Ryoma's Plan
by Anifantwist
Summary: It's been 5 years since Atobe's party. Ryoma's bored and looks to his old friends to help but he finds that there's something wrong with everyone and it's up to him and Momoshiro to fix things.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Notes: Ok. Here we go again! Wohoo. This is for KagomeGirl21. I finally thought of a plot that I could do. Yay for me.  Anywho, on the first few chapters there will be a lot of angst. BUT FEAR NOT! There will be a good amount of humor as well. You'll all see I hope this fic measures out to be as good as my last one. Please read and review. It helps all the writers block to go away.

**Ryoma's Plan**

Chapter 1

"Ne, Takeshi, I'm bored," the black haired young man said to his companion.

The spiky black-haired man looked down on the shorter one in amusement. "You're bored, eh?" He grinned impishly at the other.

Golden serious eyes glanced at the taller man. "Yeah. I'm bored." He drummed his fingers on the padded armchair. He looked deep in thought.

Takeshi Momoshiro's amusement grew. There were very few times that the world champion of tennis was bored. Ryoma Echizen had won every single tennis tournament in the world. From the shores of Japan to the world cup of the Olympics, he'd won them all. Takeshi knew this because he'd kept track of Ryoma's tournaments and travels in magazines, and he'd even been there for many of them.

"So, Oh-Magnificent-One, what shall we do to relieve you of this all-mighty boredom?"

"Saa, I don't know," Ryoma huffed, well aware that Takeshi was trying to cheer him up.

"Keep doing that and you'll be called Fuji-sempai Jr." He poked the bristling youth in the side.

Ryoma glared sideways at Takeshi, his golden eyes making him look like a frizzled cat. For a 20 year-old, Ryoma could sure look like a kid at times with that pout. Takeshi gave up with a shrug and threw his hands over his head. There were times where one could win and times when one couldn't. Takeshi had learned to live with both.

Ryoma ran a hand through his shoulder length hair and grimaced when his fingers encountered a tangle. His lips thinned in frustration, and he shook his head sending his hair flying in every which way. Takeshi thought it was wonderful when he did that. Like a masterpiece of art, really.

The plane shook as it hit an air pocket but settled quickly. Nevertheless, Ryoma quit messing with his hair and went back to looking sulky. Takeshi sighed in disappointment.

"You know, my dad once said that he gave up his tennis career for an even better dream. At the time I hadn't realized what that was. But I think I do now." This was all said in a resigned voice.

Takeshi blinked. This was odd. "And what was it? As far as I understand, he wouldn't tell the reporters why exactly he gave up his career. You said he wasn't ill and he didn't have an injury. What other reason could there have been?" Takeshi was serious now. He'd also learned that there was a time for being serious and a time for joking.

Ryoma took a while to answer but when he did it was halting, as if he were unsure. "I think he was bored." Ryoma went back to drumming his fingers on the armchair.

"Bored!" Takeshi exclaimed incredulously. "Why give up a multi-million dollar career because you're bored?"

Ryoma frowned thoughtfully. "You wouldn't understand. When you've been to the top, beaten everyone there is to beat, won everything there was to win, then you'd understand."

Takeshi looked at the ceiling of the plane in thought. It did make a weird sort of sense when he put it that way. But there was just one thing bothering him.

"So he just gave everything up?"

Ryoma grinned at him, the grin that he would only show Takeshi, the one that took his breath away. "No, you're missing something. When everyone's been beat, then you have to wait for your next challenge to grow up."

Takeshi's eyes widened. "I see. Once a person's been beat, you know them. So the only way to have a challenge is to way for fresh talent to show up." Ryoma nodded slightly. "So his next challenge was you. Right?" (inserted paragraph break)

Ryoma nodded again, and Takeshi winced. "Ryoma…" he began, "I don't know if you've thought about this, but we're both guys. There is no way we can have a kid to raise to challenge you."

Ryoma laughed, delight sparking in his eyes. His beautiful voice echoed throughout the cabin and nearly made Takeshi melt into a puddle right there. It had been too long since he'd heard that laugh. He hugged the younger man, much to Ryoma's instant displeasure. He tried to get free, but Takeshi kept a tight hold on him.

"RYOMA! It's been too long since I've heard that laugh. You're soooo cute!"

"Ah! Takeshi, get off me. Takeshi, you're strangling me!"

Takeshi pouted but let go of Ryoma reluctantly. He returned to his serious state, placing two of his fingers on his chin in thought.

"Seriously," Takeshi stated, "you're not thinking of that whole male pregnancy experiment, are you?" He raised a brow in worry.

Ryoma leaned back in his seat, his eyes closed. A smile was playing at the corners of his mouth. "Maybe someday. Not now."

Takeshi clutched his heart and gave a loud sigh of relief. "Geez, Ryo, don't scare me like that." Ryoma snorted at Takeshi's mention of his pet name. "So what are you suggesting, if not what you dad did?"

Ryoma rummaged around in his pockets lazily. He withdrew several pieces of paper. They looked suspiciously like the message slips his manager gave to him. Ryoma threw them in the air and Takeshi was quick to pick the slips out of the air. He glanced at one of the notes.

"Seems that since you won't pose for Fuji he took off somewhere. This is from his manager asking where he is."

Ryoma didn't seem surprised. "Aa, he always disappears when he has no inspiration."

Takeshi didn't know that all of this was taking place. When Fuji called, he seemed to always want to talk to Ryoma. He didn't mind, but sometimes it was frustrating. He'd once asked Eiji, another friend, if he knew anything about this, and Eiji told him that he'd just mentioned to Fuji that Ryoma was gorgeous when he smiled. Fuji had been bugging Ryoma about posing for him ever since. It had been going on for around five years.

All of that aside, Takeshi didn't know where this was going. Ryoma always did things for a reason.

"Never mind that. What's your point?"

Ryoma grinned and snatched that note out of his hand. Takeshi sighed and knew he was being told to read the next one. He read it and frowned. Now very serious, Takeshi looked at Ryoma.

"Is this a joke?" Ryoma grinned, a hint of mischief in his eyes. "The world famous author Oishi has vanished? Why!"

Ryoma shrugged, his amusement growing in his smile. "Don't know."

Takeshi arched an eyebrow, clearly not believing the smaller man. "So either Oishi and Fuji collaborated this between them, or there's something here that I'm missing."

Ryoma grinned. "I choose B."

Takeshi tossed that paper at Ryoma and read the next. "This is from Taka's wife. She's worried about him. He seems really depressed lately and his sushi shop is suffering. He doesn't seem to want to work anymore." He snapped his head up at Ryoma, puzzlement clearly written on his face. "What the heck! Taka's never been depressed about work. That's his life's dream, working the sushi shop. This is insane!"

The smile was no longer on Ryoma's face. "I know."

"You're saying that Fuji's case, Oishi's case and Taka's case all are related to each other?" Takeshi shook his head in denial.

"Yes, they are all related," Ryoma stated flatly. "Those other notes are from other worried managers. Tezuka keeps running off to who-knows-where. Eiji is getting depressed about his work. Even Atobe is calling me telling me that he's bored." Ryoma's eyes flashed to Takeshi.

"You're saying that all of this is happening because they're all bored?" Takeshi exclaimed.

Ryoma nodded slightly. "We've graduated from high school, we've all pursued the careers that we've dreamed of, and now we're all bored because we're the best of the best."

Takeshi leaned forward in his seat, placing his elbows on his knees. "I see. What I don't see is what this is all leading to. They're bored, but what are you going to do about it?"

The mischievousness was back, dancing in Ryoma's eyes. "Saa, we shall see, now won't we?"

Takeshi got very scared. When Ryoma was like this, no one could stop him. He leaned back in his seat and prepared to relax. He would learn Ryoma's plan in all good time. As he said, we shall see.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Notes: Ohhhh, lookey at all the wonderful beautiful reviews I got. –is giddy- I couldn't ask for more. Keep reviewing and it'll chase the nasty writers block away This chapter made me cry the whole time I was writing it. Just to do this ahead of time –bows- sorry. Gomen. I had to do it. No flames or I'll use em for marshmallows.

Disclaimer: Don't own. Not even a little bit. Grr grr hiss hiss. There. I said it.

**Ryoma's Plan**

Chapter 2

A man with short brown hair stepped lightly off the plane. The heat blew scorching hot wind toward the man, but he seemed to not notice it. He had his eyes closed and his smile seemed glued on his face. The people rushed around him in a hurry to reach cool air, but the man seemed in no hurry at all. He slowly reached above his head and pulled down his sunglasses, looking at the raising sun. The wind returned, blowing across his bare legs and arms. He was wearing very fashionable light tan shorts with an ice blue shirt.

Someone walked up to the man. He was a lot taller then the man with the short brown hair. He wore glasses and seemed the total opposite of the other man in that he had a frown glued to his face. His hair was darker brown and a bit longer. The presence he carried was very hard to not notice.

"Fuji, what are we doing here?" the taller man asked the shorter one.

"Saa, I could say we're taking a vacation." That smile never faltered.

The frown deepened. "You could, but you'd be lying."

"Hmm, I wonder if that would really be true."

"Fuji…" The tone was warning.

"Saa, you're being impatient, Tezuka." Fuji waved a finger in front of Tezuka's face. The smile then faltered a little bit. "I'm bored."

"Bored?" Tezuka repeated, crossing his arms.

"Mmhm. I've painted all that I could, taken photos of the most beautiful scenes, done everything I've felt I needed to and I've made millions doing it. There's nothing left for me."

"That doesn't answer why we're here," Tezuka pointed out, when it looked like Fuji wasn't going on.

Fuji's grin widened. "Well, when one gets bored, one finds a hobby."

A light bulb went off. "Tennis."

"Saa, now you understand." Fuji looked at the sun again. "I'm going to have Echizen re-train me. With him and you in the court, I would never be bored. Perhaps I will also get my inspiration back as well." He clenched his right hand into a fist. "And perhaps I will let the past go," he whispered.

Tezuka turned toward the building and started walking. "Your manager is going to be mad, but I'm not going to stay here and roast while I argue with you."

Fuji caught up, again relaxed. "You wouldn't argue because you've thought the same thing. You want Echizen to train you too."

A tiny smile played at the corners of Tezuka's mouth. "Perhaps."

Fuji turned his face up sideways at Tezuka. "You wouldn't have followed me if you didn't."

Tezuka stopped and bent down and brushed his lips lightly across Fuji's before going to his ear. "I could have followed you because I would have missed you."

"You'd be lying," Fuji said with a small, real smile.

Tezuka drew back and looked at the sun. "Maybe not."

Fuji glanced up sideways at his lover. "You've changed," he mused.

Tezuka frowned. "So have you. That change is what I'm most worried about. Are you sure you want Echizen to train you?" He looked pointedly at Fuji's right hand.

Fuji gripped his right hand with his left and frowned. "I'll be fine. Come on. Let's go into the airport." Before Tezuka could say anything, Fuji walked off.

The rush of cool air as they stepped into the air-conditioned airport was a relief against their hot skin. Tezuka would have let out a sigh of relief if he had allowed it. He reminded himself that he had to be the calm and controlled one so he could be there for Fuji. The entire reason why he hadn't gone off to the pros was Fuji. Tezuka worried about him daily. No matter what anyone said, he loved Fuji from the bottom of his heart and would willingly throw his life away for him. Fuji would hear nothing of the sort, but that didn't stop Tezuka from thinking about it.

Impatiently, he brushed away those forbidden thoughts. He would deal with those later. Tezuka laughed mentally. He remembered once, five years ago, when he'd said the exact same thing to himself at Atobe's Christmas party. Such a wonderful time. Why couldn't things stay like that forever? Again, unhappy thoughts. He brushed those away.

To steer himself away from such dangerous thoughts, he took a look around the airport. People were bustling around, running to catch their flights. Once in a while, there were walkers who actually got to the airport on time, but they were few and far between. Fuji and he kept walking, neither talking but each thinking. Tezuka's eyes roamed over the various people. There were people of all ages and nationalities running around. His heart nearly skipped a beat when he saw two people standing next to a shop.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. They looked like Oishi and Eiji, but they couldn't be. Both of the men standing there were too thin. Even Tezuka could tell they were too thin from his distance. They were both nothing but skin and bones. He met the taller one's eyes and it seemed to strengthen his opinion. Those eyes were the eyes of war veterans or those who have seen someone close to them die. Nothing like Oishi's eyes used to look like. The Eiji look-alike was standing there, not bouncing around like the Eiji in Tezuka's memory would have done. No, those two people couldn't be Oishi and Eiji. Besides, those two were halfway around the world. It would be a huge coincidence if they all met here in this airport at this time. Not possible.

The two men started making their way over to Tezuka. He felt a jab in his side and looked down to see Fuji watching the two approaching men like Tezuka.

"Hey, Tezuka, don't they look like Oishi and Eiji?"

There was something in Fuji's voice that made Tezuka look down at the smaller man. There was a faint amount of horrification in Fuji's eyes, probably the same amount that was in his own.

"Aa," he agreed.

He quickly suppressed any negative emotions he felt. He was sure those two men would be able to tell what he was feeling if he didn't. The two men arrived and there was nothing but silence between the two groups. They were assessing each other with guarded eyes. Suddenly, the taller one smiled. It looked strained, but he smiled nevertheless.

"Tezuka? It's been a long time."

Tezuka gulped down the gasp. It was Oishi!

"So it has," he said instead. "You're looking… well." He stumbled over the word, but Oishi seemed to not have noticed.

"I'm glad. I've been working out to keep my weight down." He switched feet that he was standing on. In Tezuka's opinion, it looked painful but again he guarded his feelings.

"I've been working out too. I go to the tennis clubs and sometimes teach. It keeps me in shape."

"Ah, so you're still playing tennis. Good. What would tennis be without you, eh?" Oishi laughed but, like his smile, it seemed forced. "Fuji, you're looking well."

Tezuka noticed that Fuji had put his mask on, something he did only when he was very rattled. This scenario must have shocked him deeply.

"I'm doing fine, thank you," Fuji said calmly.

"What are you two doing here?" Eiji finally spoke up.

Tezuka nearly jumped when he heard Eiji's voice. It was very soft, but it cracked as if he had screamed his voice to death. It sounded so tired that Tezuka almost winced in sympathy. He'd noticed that Eiji hadn't smiled once since arriving. There was something totally wrong with this situation, and Tezuka didn't like it. In the old days, Oishi was his best friend. He would rely on Tezuka for advice about everything, and in turn Tezuka would trust Oishi in everything. Something in his life had to have gone terribly wrong for him to act this way.

"We're headed for Echizen's house. You two?"

He'd noticed that Fuji hadn't said a word, relying on him to answer. Tezuka knew how he felt. This was the first time in his life that he wished there was someone else other then him to talk. He was so afraid of messing things up with these two. He felt as though he was walking on an impossibly thin wire. He hated feeling like that.

Oishi answered. "We're headed there as well. Why don't we travel together?"

Tezuka just nodded, trusting Oishi to interpret the motion. Oishi turned and walked away, Eiji in tow. Tezuka hung back to talk to Fuji.

"I don't like this," he whispered.

"Me either." Fuji's eyes were wide open and he had a frown on his face. Tezuka was right; this situation really bothered Fuji.

"Let's see if Echizen knows anything about what happened." Fuji just nodded, putting his mask back on.

The taxi trip was the coldest trip Tezuka had ever taken. No one spoke and no one smiled. The only one talking was the cabbie, and even she shut up after the first two cold responses. When they entered Echizen's neighborhood, the cabbie let out a whistle.

"Wow, this is a ritzy place. Are you sure your friend lives here?"

Her eyes traveled over the huge mansions. Most of them were quite a distance from each other so their eyes had time to take in all the wonders of the houses before going to the next. The streets were well paved and well kept up. Street cleaners must have visited this neighborhood more then all the rest. No trash littered the sidewalks or streets, the grass was well manicured and the trees all had fences around them to keep dogs and cats from them. It was by far too ritzy for people calling a cab to be coming to. Her doubts rose the further in she got.

"This is it." Fuji pointed out the window to a mansion.

The cabbie gasped, her eyes as round as they would go. The road leading up to the mansion had to be a good half mile long. There was a circular driveway with a fountain in the middle. The fountain was of two merfolk raising water lilies in the air. The mansion easily had to have had over 100 plus rooms. There were gorgeous gardens in front for people to see. Off to the right, a little more difficult to see, were tennis courts. The cabbie could count around fifteen before they went out of view. There was also a tennis court house. It was as if the cabbie's dreams had come true.

Fuji calmly got out of the car as the cabbie gawked at the area. He pressed a button and immediately a voice came on.

"Yes? Who are you and what is your business? Are you expected?"

"We're not expected. At least, I don't think we are. My name is Fuji. I'm a good friend of Ryoma's. With me are Tezuka, Oishi and Eiji. My business is to speak with Ryoma," he told the intercom calmly.

"Ah yes," the intercom squawked. "You all are expected. My master told me to expect you four."

All five of them heard a buzz and a clank, and the gate started opening up. Fuji hurried back into the car. As he was getting in, Tezuka saw a flash of a question in Fuji's eyes before he settled himself. Tezuka knew exactly how he felt. This entire trip was turning out to be a mystery. They didn't even know they were coming here until they got to the ticket counter. The car lurched, disrupting his thoughts. He looked out the window to see the beautiful gardens, but they couldn't detract him from his worrying thoughts.

It took almost no time to arrive at the front door. The four of them stepped out of the cab and stretched. Tezuka, Oishi and Eiji waited for Fuji to pay the driver before walking up the stairs to the front door. Before any of them could knock, the door opened. A middle-aged man stood in the doorway with a smile.

"Welcome. One of the young masters will be here shortly. This way, please." He spread an arm to the left, in the direction they should take.

None of them said a word but followed the middle-aged man's directions. They entered what seemed to be a waiting room. They all chose a seat to sit in silently. Oishi and Eiji seemed to choose seats that were very close. Tezuka chose a chair close to Fuji.

When they heard footsteps, they turned toward the door. It opened to admit two people. Or, rather, one person wheeling someone else into the room. This time Tezuka didn't mask his surprise, didn't even have a choice. The one sitting in the wheelchair was none other then Kaidoh. The one pushing him was Inui in his ever-present glasses. He was wearing a white lab coat, buttoned up professionally. Kaidoh was wearing sweat pants and a white shirt. The pants didn't hide the impossibly thin, malnourished legs, just as the lab coat didn't hide Inui's thin state. Kaidoh's eyes looked dead. Tezuka couldn't see even a hint of life in them.

Tezuka glanced at Fuji and wasn't surprised to see that he was gaping like a fish out of water. He was sure all of them were. Fuji's eyes were wide open in stark terror.

Inui pushed his glasses further up his nose. "Ah, didn't know there was anyone else in this room." His voice sent shivers up Tezuka's spine.

"It's been a long time, Inui," Tezuka remarked, trying as hard as he could to mask his earlier surprise.

There was a start of a smile playing at the edges of Inui's lips. "That it has."

The exchange was enough to give everyone time to put up their masks. It reminded Tezuka of something Fuji had said so long ago

"_What masks are we buried with when we die? Does it really matter?"_

That night, he had used the moon as an example. With the moon, the water and the romantic atmosphere, Tezuka couldn't answer those questions. Now, maybe he could. There were so many masks in this room. Tezuka could say for sure that it did matter what mask people were buried with. It would tear Tezuka to pieces if Oishi or Eiji or Inui or Kaidoh were buried with their current masks. It made him want to go up to them and rip them off of their faces.

He looked down at his hand and was startled to see it shaking. In fact, his entire body was shaking. It took him a few minutes to calm himself down. By the time he did, everyone was sitting down. An uncomfortable silence reigned through the room. No one was willing to talk. Inui was busy fussing with Kaidoh's wires. He had his clipboard out and was jotting down something when they heard footsteps again.

The door opened again. This time Momoshiro entered the room. His tall frame was intimidating at first, but his warm smile calmed everyone down. Tezuka was amazed at the change in Momo's attitude. He still looked like a powerhouse but now it was more like it was restrained power. Dangerous power on the tennis court. His presence was, in short, amazing. Tezuka hadn't expected Momo to ever have this kind of presence. The thing Tezuka most appreciated, though, was the genuine smile. It seemed as if the years hadn't affected him one bit.

"Hey everyone. Welcome to Ryoma's and my house. We've been expecting you." Something in that sentence rang just a little bit wrong, but Tezuka waved it away. "Ryoma is elsewhere right now, but you'll all be able to see him soon."

He walked over and pulled up a chair to the group of them. He looked at them all as if counting.

"Hmm, there's still one missing. Well, I'll brief Taka when he gets here." He waved his hand in dismissal. "Now, on to more important business. Ryoma knows that you all have come seeking for him to train you. He told me to tell you all that before he agrees to train you, you will all have to throw away your demons. He's booked you all flight plans to various places, all thoroughly researched. You go to these places to learn. When you come back, Ryoma will see what you all have learned. If it is enough then he will agree to train you. If you haven't learned the lesson he wants you to learn, then you're all out of luck."

Tezuka was sure they were all gaping again. This was very unexpected.

"What do you mean, 'lesson'? How does he want us to learn our lesson?" Inui asked.

Momo looked at Inui with a grin. "Well, you will all be sent in pairs to various cities. You'll be given a list of the hotels you're staying in and enough money to survive in those cities. You'll also be given a map of all the tennis courts in that city. The courts will be marked with different colors, and you'll have to figure out the color code yourself. When you have visited every one of those courts, you're allowed to return. We'll give you a book so you can keep a journal of sorts and you'll turn that in when you return. Kind of like homework." He winked at the group to calm them down.

"That's it?" Tezuka asked, suspicion in his voice.

"That's it," Momo confirmed with a grin. "In pairs. I'll give you a day of rest, so that you can all prepare and so that Taka can show up. The pairings will go this way. Taka will be taking over Kaidoh's treatment and will be his partner for this short time." He ignored Inui's indignation. "Tezuka will be accompanying Oishi, while I will be traveling with Fuji. That leaves Eiji with Inui. I will give you all the letters Ryoma wrote to you before you leave."

Everyone was protesting so loud that Momo had to roar to be heard over them all.

"If any of you have any problems with this arrangement, then you're all free to leave. There's the door. Ryoma told me to tell you all that he has no time for wimps." When no one raised to the bait, Momo nodded in satisfaction. "Good."

"I have a question," Inui stated, standing up. Momo motioned for him to go ahead. "What about Kaidoh's treatment? If anything goes wrong, then something bad could happen."

Momo raised a brow. "So you're saying that you don't trust Taka to take good care of Kaidoh?"

Tezuka raised a brow in amazement. That was a very neat trap. Inui would be backed into a corner either way he went, and Inui knew it. He was silent for a long time before he sat back down.

"Okay. The maids will show you all to your rooms, and you can rest and freshen up there before dinner and bedtime. It really is good to see you all again." He smiled at them once more before turning and leaving.

Tezuka rethought his earlier comment about Momo not seeming to have changed. No, he was wrong. They had all changed, but Momo had changed for the better. He was in more control of himself, and he now possessed a quality that Tezuka had once had. The ability to be a leader, to control everyone with just a few words. Momo had become an amazing person.

As they followed the maid up the stairs, Tezuka thought about Echizen and how he hadn't seen him for over five years. If Momo had changed so much, then it was a given that Echizen had as well. Tezuka was also sure that Echizen had thought up this plan. For what reason Tezuka didn't know, but he knew that it had something to do with everyone's abnormalities. 'Throw away your demons,' Momo had said. He glanced around at the others and grimly admitted that there were a lot of demons to throw away. He wasn't sure it could be done in just one trip. After a quick mental debate, Tezuka decided to trust Echizen. He had to trust the pillar of Seigaku. If one pillar is taken down, then it's up to the next to support them all. Instinctively, they had all turned to Echizen. Instinctively, they all knew Echizen was their last hope.

Tezuka prayed to whatever deity there was that Echizen's plan would work. Like threads in a woven blanket, if one thread was taken out, the pattern would be destroyed. Dark thoughts, but these were dark days. Tezuka sent all of his hope to Echizen. _Please save us. I can't._

Author's notes: what do you know… finished another chapter. -winces at all the trash being thrown- Nooooo, I'm only torturing the boys because it's needed! Really. I'll make it all better. Ryoma glares- Ok ok. Geeze. Ryoma will make it all better.


	3. Chapter 3

Takeshi clutched the phone, nearly breaking it. He was gritting his teeth in frustration. How? The phone beeped again to signal that it was still going through. The line at the other end clicked and there was silence.

"Ryoma, it's me." Still silence. Takeshi didn't really expect more. "Why didn't you warn me about all of this? Did you know about this?"

"Aa, I knew." The voice was dead.

"Why didn't you tell me! How could this have happened?" Takeshi roared over the phone. He wasn't really angry at Ryoma but more at the situation and his helplessness. He knew that Ryoma would know that.

"I couldn't." Ryoma's voice was heavy with emotion. "I couldn't bring myself to say any of this was reality. I'd heard from everyone over the past few years, but I didn't know the true situation."

Takeshi released his grip on the phone. So, that was it. Ryoma was blaming himself for their friends' torments. He was planning on reviving them somehow. That much Takeshi could tell.

"It's not your fault, Ryo," Takeshi whispered over the phone, not trusting his emotion-heavy voice. "It's not yours, it's not mine… It's not even their fault. We're all friends. We should have been in better contact then we have been. What are you planning?" he asked to change the subject. If he didn't, he would have broken down and cried.

"I know." Ryoma hesitated. "But I'm the only one who can fix them. And you, too. We're all that's left. Besides…" Here, his tone changed. "I have a plan. You'll see when you go on the trip with Fuji. I'm counting on you, Takeshi, my love."

Takeshi gaped. Ryoma didn't show his feelings toward even him easily. For him to say that must have been hard. Or, he could have been putting more faith in Takeshi then he first thought. Either way, Ryoma was counting heavily on Takeshi, and he wasn't about to let his love down. Ryoma must have been very desperate.

"Aa, you can count on me, Brat."

He heard a snort at the other end. "Of course."

A click and then a dial tone announced that Ryoma had hung up. Takeshi hadn't expected any more. He had expected less actually. He looked down at the table and saw envelopes. Each of those envelopes had a letter addressed to certain people. One of them even had his name on it. Some were fatter than others.

He tapped the table a couple of times before clenching his hand into a fist. Even now he couldn't go against his love's wishes. No matter how curious he was. Ah well. He'd find things out soon. He glanced out the darkened window. Yes, very soon he'd find out Ryoma's plans.

He turned toward the bathroom. It was time for bed. He'd better get as much rest as he could because tomorrow was a whole new day that promised no rest.

Fuji tapped the pencil in his hand against his chin. The early morning sunrise went unnoticed by the occupants in the room. Tezuka was idly flipping through a book. Fuji was staring at a wall in thought. There had been almost no sleep that night. They were both too strung out with their teammates' health to get any sleep. Tezuka didn't look too bad off but he'd told Fuji earlier that he'd trust Echizen.

Echizen. There was another worrying problem. Why didn't he come out and tell them what Momo had to say? Could it be that even he could barely stand the sight of them? Fuji shook his head. No, that couldn't be the case. Echizen wasn't like that. Then what game was he trying to play? Fuji nodded mentally. Yes, that was the key. Echizen was playing a game. But what kind and how dangerous were the two most important questions in that field.

The soft sound of a page being turned brought Fuji out of his thoughts and into new ones. Today they would learn where they would be going. Today they would pair up into their teams and set off to learn a lesson. Fuji smile grimly. No, to get rid of demons. He critically looked at his right hand. Nothing wrong, none of the skin was broken. It was as smooth as it always had been. But it was indeed his demon. With a grimace of contempt, he put his hand under the desk effectively hiding it from view.

"That's not going to make it go away." Tezuka's all-knowing voice rang out in the silence.

"Saa, I hadn't known that. Please Oh-Wise-One, tell me more." He knew the sarcasm was dripping.

Tezuka raised a brow, his piercing gaze catching Fuji. Fuji wasn't prepared and so had the deer-caught-in-a-headlight look on his face. He hated when Tezuka looked at him like that. It was as if Tezuka was trying to tell him to grow up. Fuji nearly laughed himself hysterical mentally. So far the genius has fallen.

Fuji fell onto the floor in a heap. He must have been really out of it because in the next instant Tezuka was there to catch him. The tears flooded down his face as Tezuka wrapped his strong arms around the fallen genius. After what seemed like forever, the tears finally stopped. Neither man moved.

"Trust Echizen, trust the pillar. Don't worry," Tezuka's soft voice kept saying. Fuji had no choice but to believe.

"Aa, I will trust Echizen for now, but I can't see how one trip can wipe away all of our horrible memories. It's nearly impossible."

Tezuka hooked a finger under Fuji's chin and lifted Fuji's face to meet his eyes. Tezuka gave Fuji a brilliant smile and kissed him. For Fuji, it was as if heaven had come to Earth. The smile, the kiss, they were both unexpected but very welcomed. Fuji pulled away from Tezuka and stood up, now more sure of himself then before. Tezuka had that kind of effect on him.

"I'll trust. Thank you Tezuka." He knew Tezuka would know that he was thanking for more then just the kiss.

Tezuka didn't say anything. He just pulled himself up and returned to his chair and book. He had just flipped the page when the intercom buzzed.

Fuji walked over and casually leaned against the wall. He pushed the button.

"Fuji-sempai, Buchou? Would you please come down to the sitting room?" Momo's voice floated cheerfully over the com.

"Mm," Fuji replied.

A quick glance at Tezuka showed him already up and moving. He was right behind him. Five minutes brought them to the sitting lounge they were in the day before. A few maids had to be asked directions, but that wasn't the point. When they walked into the room, they found they weren't the first ones and they weren't the last ones. Momo, Oishi and Eiji were there and sitting down. None of them were talking. Momo looked very uncomfortable. Tezuka and Fuji quickly found spots around Momo and gave nods of acknowledgement. It wasn't long before Inui wheeled in Kaidoh, with Taka walking in behind them. They took the seats between Fuji and Oishi. When everyone was settled, Momo walked to the front of them and gave them a smile.

"Now that we're all gathered, I have something to tell you all and to give you all." He pulled out a credit card. "This is a credit card made for each of you. You will all have one. These can get money out of any bank you come across. They all have accounts in your names with a certain amount of money. Do not exceed because we will not reimburse." He gave a leveled stare at them all. "Ryoma has talked to all of your bankers and they've agreed to freeze your accounts for the time being."

"WHAT!" The combined yell was deafening.

"Oi, oi. I'm not deaf, you know. We did this for a reason. Since you decided to come here, you're all starting the same. No one will have an easier time then anyone else." Momo sighed and muttered something that sounded to Fuji like 'impetuous runaway lovers'. He went on more cheerfully. "These are your plane tickets." He pulled out several rectangular pieces of paper. "Now I told you about your partners yesterday, so you shouldn't be reminded of those. Taka-san arrived late last night, so Inui was given plenty of time to brief him. You all just have to go to these places marked on the map. We would prefer it if you would all write a sort of diary about each court or place you go to, the people you meet and the things you do. That's it," he finished with an impish grin.

While he was handing out the plane tickets, Inui raised his hand. "So all we have to do is write this diary and return? Is there a time limit?"

"No. None. You could take half a year if you wanted. But Kaidoh may not last a half a year without you." He grinned more impishly.

Inui frowned. "Is that why you're mixing us up? To make sure we return in a good time?"

Momo glanced out of a nearby window. "As Ryoma would say 'Saa, who knows.'"

"Isn't Fuji the one who says that?" Everyone jumped when Eiji spoke. It sounded almost joking which was odd coming from someone who looked so close to death.

Nearly everyone in the room jumped when Momo burst out laughing. "After Atobe's party that one year, he's been acting more like Fuji. Well, he has this habit of saying 'saa' a lot now, at least. I think it's cute." His eyes twinkled in amusement when he looked at Fuji.

Tezuka bristled, and his eyes clearly said 'mine, hands off'. Momo waved a hand jokingly. He calmly watched the tickets being passed around and looked at his when he received it.

"New Orleans? Why are you sending us there?" he asked Momo in a calm voice.

Momo frowned at him and his hand went to his pocket. After a little while, he grinned at the group. "You'll find out when you get there. Here." He handed Tezuka a letter addressed to him.

"What are these for?" Oishi asked when one was passed on to him.

"Some of them Ryoma wrote. Some of them I wrote. You're all not allowed to open them until you get to your designated cities." He passed two to Eiji and grinned. "Now, I will be calling you all once a week to see how you all are doing on your progress as well as your money." He looked at each of them and Tezuka felt a chill run up his spine. "I hope that all of you will take this seriously. In the words of a certain Buchou I know 'Do your best, and don't let your guard down.'"

It seemed that everyone was holding their breath but, in the next instant, Momo went back to being cheerful. He dismissed everyone to get packed and ready to go. Most of the flights would be taking off in just a few hours.

When Tezuka and Fuji reached their room, they looked at one another.

"Interesting, is it not?" Fuji said calmly. "Where did Momo get so much… presence?"

Tezuka shrugged. "More interesting is how he's breaking us up out of our comfortable groups and sending us with people we should feel most comfortable with."

"You noticed that too?" Fuji smile grimly. "I think Ryoma is hoping that our old bonds to our friends snap them out of whatever is eating them alive."

Tezuka nodded slightly. "But if that were the case, then Momo should have paired himself off with Kaidoh, and not you."

"That would make the best sense. Unless, of course, he has something else in mind." Fuji cocked his head to one side. "Saa, this new Momo and Ryoma are hard to read."

"Let's get ready." Tezuka moved to his luggage. When Fuji didn't move to follow, he looked back. "What's wrong?"

"Saa," Fuji scratched his head, "I don't have a ticket. Momo didn't give me one."

"Then you're staying here." Tezuka turned again and grabbed his bags.

"I see." Fuji smiled grimly. "Some of us may start off better then others. Right?"

Tezuka frowned. "We'll see." He walked out of the room, leaving behind a very confused Fuji.

Momo watched quietly as the limo pulled away from the circular driveway. Fuji stood silently by him. Both watched the black car until it was out of sight. Fuji finally glanced at Momo and spoke up.

"So, what do we do now? Are we going to stay here, or go somewhere else?" His mask never faltered.

Even if he wanted to believe that Momo had changed but for the better, that didn't have to be the case. It was entirely possible for Momo to be wearing a very authentic-looking mask, for all Fuji knew.

Momo sighed and rubbed the back of his neck with a rueful expression on his face.

"That I don't know. Here." He handed Fuji a colored map. "I guess we'll be visiting those courts later."

Fuji studied the map. It was a very well done map of San Francisco. Every once and while there would be a colored square or several colored squares. He noticed that not all of the squares looked to be tennis courts.

"So, we go visiting and we write a journal on what we did at these courts. That's it?"

"Hmm, how many times am I going to have to say this? Yes, that's it."

"And, by the time I visit all of these, Echizen will be back." He gave Momo a calculating look.

"Yes. He will be back by then." Very serious, no laughter in his voice at all.

"Saa, then let's start right now."

Fuji put the information into the back of his mind. Momo had said that Echizen would be back by the time they visited all the colored squares. But, there was a hesitance as if perhaps there was a possibility that Echizen could arrive sooner. Very interesting information if he read Momoshiro right.

"Now!" Momo looked about to faint. "Dang, I was hoping we could laze around for another day or so. Aww, man. No fair," he complained.

Fuji smiled before he could suppress it. He couldn't help it. This was the Momo he remembered. No one could act that well.

"From the amount of colors I see here, it could take us months to complete this map."

Momo stopped acting and gave Fuji a mysterious grin. "Maybe."

"Why are you making it so long?"

"Hi-mi-tsu." Momo winked at Fuji.

Fuji frowned, but he didn't say anything more. This Momo was interesting. He could feel the glee that he thought was dead rise up in him. This could be fun.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Notes: Ohhh looky I'm back. And it all thanks to all the wonderful reviews I got. School's over and my nasty writer's block has temporarily lifted. If any of the characters are OOC then forgive me. I tried as hard as I could to keep them in character. All writing mistakes are mine. I didn't have my proof reader read this so it's very sloppy. Please for me on that as well. I write a bit rough. I cannot stress enough how much reviews mean to me. They kept this story alive this far. I thought I was doing a crappy job and all but, from the reviews, I'm not doing as horrible as I thought. Thank you.

Disclaimer: Not mine. Nope. Never will be. Just the fic. I just borrowed the characters. So there.

**Ryoma's Plan**

**Chapter 4**

Taka sighed as he wheeled Kaidoh onto the plane. Kaidoh hadn't said a word the entire car ride. He sat there staring at nothing. Taka had tried to strike up a conversation but Kaidoh didn't even grunt. He was starting to miss the old Kaidoh and his habit of hissing.

He sat down and buckled himself in. He tensed once he was done. He didn't even know why he was here. Not just the plane but California. He should have been home in Japan serving sushi to customers. He laid his arms on the armrest and leaned back in his seat.

A month ago he started playing tennis again. He would usually play alone or with the rare person he would see. He'd always play at night. He didn't really want his wife finding out. She had enough stress as it was. The sushi shop was really taking off. No, Taka didn't complain one bit about that but life was boring. When he picked up a tennis racket that first time, it felt as if something were right and, yet, wrong. He felt as though this is what he'd been missing for those five long years. He enjoyed his work but it didn't feel right. It didn't feel right, either, with the tennis racket. That's when it hit him… of course, the team. Life didn't feel right without them in it.

So, after his wife found out that he'd been playing at night and after they spent long hours talking about it, he found himself on a plane bound for California and to the only friend he knew that could help. Ryoma.

He opened his eyes and looked at Kaidoh. He felt tears sting his eyes but didn't allow them to rule him. Kaidoh. So strong, so determined and now this all had to happen. Inui didn't tell him what had happened but the damage done was all Taka really needed to know. Things were not right here and they were not right elsewhere. He thought back to the others.

Tezuka-buchou, Eiji, Oishi, Fuji and even Inui were all different. The difference was more notable in some, like Eiji and Oishi, than it was in the others. Taka reached into his pockets and withdrew the letter Echizen gave to him. They were told not to open them until they got to their destination, but Taka didn't think it made much difference. He put his thumb under the flap and gently tore it open. He unfolded the neat, white piece of paper and read.

_Dear Taka-san,_

_I'm looking forward to training you. Sorry you had to go on this mission but I need you right now. By now you've seen Kaidoh so you should know. Only you're kindness will bring him back from the dead. I'm counting on you Taka-san. Don't let me down and don't lose faith. He will come back. They all will. Believe in me._

_Ryoma_

Taka smiled ruefully. Yes, believe in Echizen. He believed, instinctively, that he knew he was needed and, so, came. Echizen was whistling silently, Taka heard and came running. Just like Echizen to do something like that.

He could imagine Echizen as he wrote this letter, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He was probably writing slowly because Echizen was never in a hurry. He would brush that long hair away from his face every once and a while or put it in a pony tail. All the while, he was thinking of Taka and his plan to heal everyone.

Taka grinned, this time for real. It was his first real smile in a few years. Yes, Echizen sure had the plan. He thought of Atobe's Christmas party and his smile instantly froze on his face. Happy times. Why couldn't things go back to the way they were?

Taka blinked. He just remembered that Echizen hadn't paid Atobe back for those little stunts. Taka grinned evilly within his mind. He was sure Echizen had a plan for that too. All Taka could do right now was sit back and help Echizen put things together again.

He glanced over at Kaidoh and then at the remaining two letters in his hands. They were both addressed to Kaidoh but they had different handwriting. He was sure one of them was Echizens' and he thought the other would be Momoshiro's. Should he wait and give them to Kaidoh in the city or give them to him now?

He tapped the letters against the armrest. He'd wait. Plenty of time in the city. Yes, plenty of time. He settled down in his chair when the pilot came on the intercom and planned out their stay in the city. Kaidoh needed him huh? Only he could bring Kaidoh back huh? Well, we'll see about that. A small smile graced Taka's face as he closed his eyes to go to sleep.

Kaidoh stared at the wall blankly. He and Taka were in New Orleans. Currently they were at one of the hotels listed on the piece of paper that Momo handed them. They had been in New Orleans for several days now and Kaidoh was getting irritated. First they take Inui away from him and place him with Taka. Normally he wouldn't have a problem with that but he viewed Inui as his support, sort of. Taking Inui away made him almost panic. But he stayed cool. He didn't allow any of his panic to show.

The first few days Taka took him around to various tennis courts. They all brought the longing to be out there back into him but depression always won the battle. He would never be able to walk again, let alone play tennis. Why Echizen was making him going through this hell was beyond him. He never thought Echezen was that cruel of a person.

The door opened and Taka walked into the room. He had a smile on his face though it looked strained. Kaidoh didn't really care. All he could think of was his loss of tennis, Inui and the gain of hell.

"We're going down to a local restaurant to eat lunch. Ok Kaidoh?" Taka looked inquiringly at Kaidoh as if waiting for an answer.

Not getting one, Taka walked over and wheeled Kaidoh out the door. Kaidoh didn't pay attention as usual. This world was cruel and didn't deserve attention. All he wanted in life was tennis. All he ever strived for was tennis. He made his dreams come true and they only soared after Echizen became part of the team. Yes, without him there would have been nothing. But then… that happened.

Kaidoh felt tears sting his eyes and mentally scrubbed them away. He wouldn't fall. No, he couldn't fall. Not him. Not ever… then why did it feel like he was already falling? Why did it feel like he had nothing underneath him and it was only a matter of time before he hit the ground? He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice the time it took to get down to the restaurant.

Taka wheeled him up to a table and then took a seat. He told the waiter they would only like water and then he looked at Kaidoh who pretended to ignore him. He didn't care. No one cared but Inui and Inui wasn't here. Yes, the only reason why Inui stayed with him was because he pitied him. He didn't need anyone's pity. Damn Inui. Kaidoh had loved him greatly before… the incident but after all he could think about was his loss. Inui, he was sure, only stayed because he felt sorry for the poor cripple.

"Why?" Taka's soft voice startled Kaidoh out of his thoughts. "What happened for you to be like this?"

Kaidoh pretended to ignore Taka. He didn't want to tell him. He really didn't. It wasn't any of Taka's business. None… then why did he feel like he wanted to talk to Taka? Why did he feel the tears come rushing back to his eyes? Why did feel weak with Taka's soft, soothing voice? He felt something wet slid down his cheek and was startled when his fingers brushed against a tear. He swallowed his pride. He felt like he had to do it. If it were anyone other then Taka then he would have been able to brush the question away like he'd been doing for the past few years. But it was Taka and he almost jumped, startled, when he heard his own voice start to talk.

"It was a car accident." Kaidoh's voice was rough from not being used in a long time. Neither he nor Inui were talkers. "Three years ago. Inui and I were going to a tournament. It was my last tournament that would decide if I would be a pro. Many years I had waited for this tournament. It had rained the night before and the water froze. We never saw the ice. The car flipped several times and landed with half of the front crushed into a wall." The waiter came bringing their glasses of water. Thankful, Kaidoh grabbed the water and began chugging it. It'd been a while since he'd talked so his mouth was very dry.

"Kaidoh…" Taka said but stopped. Kaidoh heard the emotion in it. If it were pity, he would have left but there was no pity. There was just pure sadness. "So Inui was in the car with you?" Taka asked.

Kaidoh laughed bitterly. "Oh yes, he was the driver."

Taka had picked up his glass but dropped it in his surprise. The glass fell shattering it in several pieces. Neither man looked at it, too intense on each other. Taka stared at Kaidoh with his mouth hanging open. Kaidoh could tell that Taka couldn't say a word so he went on.

"Yes, he's the one who killed my legs and destroyed my future. The half of the car that was crushed pushed its way until it crushed my legs. Inui escaped without a scratch. He disappeared after that only to return once my operations were finished. I had several of them, each one life threatening. Every time they put me to sleep I had a larger chance of never waking up, so the doctors kept telling me. But here I am! The great Kaidoh! And for what? This miserable half life?" He snorted. "What a great life this has been. Perhaps it would have been better if I had died during one of those operations. Then I would have got Inui back for ruining my life."

The slap startled Kaidoh out of his rant and many people were watching them with growing interest. Kaidoh was only paying attention to Taka. Taka, the one who wore the angriest face Kaidoh had ever encountered. The one whose hand had just slapped him. The waiter who was picking up Taka's shattered glass stared at the two men in bewilderment, not paying attention to the pieces of glass he was handling.

Kaidoh lift a hand to his cheek in surprise, his gaze wide as he looked at Taka. "What was that for you idiot!"

Taka's hand was shaking but once Kaidoh spoke it stopped. He lowered his hand and smiled. Kaidoh frowned. It was the first real smile he'd seen on Taka since the plane ride. His smiles had been either strained or forced, not relaxed like this.

"Because you spoke irrationally Kaidoh-san." He let out a sigh. "Thank goodness, that sentence sounded more of you then anything I've heard in a long time."

Kaidoh blinked and thought back to what he'd said. Yes, it did sound like the old him. He'd thought that part of him had died in the car accident many years ago. He hissed, frustrated and Taka burst out laughing. It sounded a bit hysterical but Kaidoh kind of understood him. It felt good to hiss again. He'd felt more alive when he did that then ever before. Come to think of it, it had felt really good spilling his guts out to Taka. Not that he'd tell the other man that, of course.

A yelp from their left startled both the men. They turned and looked on the ground where the waiter was picking up the broken glass. Seems like he was paying more attention to the guys then the sharp glass on the floor. Kaidoh's glare made the man pale and finish picking up the shards faster, hurrying off to get his cut looked at.

Taka sighed. "Kaidoh, we've had a rough few days. What do you say about a truce? There's a specific court I want to take you to and, if nothing changes and you're still not happy, then I say we go back to Echizen's."

Kaidoh glared at Taka, trying to see if there were any hidden truths. Finding none, Kaidoh slowly nodded. "Fine."

He almost grinned at Taka's sigh of obvious relief. "Good. Let's get back to the room and change, and then we'll head out. I also have something to give to you."

Kaidoh firmly kept his curiosity in check. He adverted his gaze to look at nothing like he had been doing for three years. Taka sighed and wheeled him out of the building. Like last time, Kaidoh didn't notice the time passing. It seemed like it was only a few minutes ride to the hotel. He was grateful. He hated waiting long periods of times.

For some odd reason, the door opening looked different to him. It was as if a door he'd closed a long time ago was being opened again. Something he'd once thought dead was really alive. Could he just be imagining it? Possibly. Hope died out three years ago along with his legs.

Taka hung the towel on the shower bar and walked into the quiet bedroom. He peeked out the door into the sitting room and winced. Kaidoh was sitting in the corner glowering. He'd given him Momoshiro's letter and knew something like this would probably happen. That's why he'd dreaded giving it to him in the first place.

Coming on this trip taught him about the new Kaidoh. He kept everything hidden inside of him so that no emotion leaked out. Hatred, sadness, hope, love, anger, frustration, they were all bottled up within him. Taka knew about emotional bottles, the longer you put them in there, the worse they get. The one emotion Taka had not wanted out of that bottle was anger. The one person in the entire world who could spark that anger without even trying to was Momoshiro. Thus the reason why he'd kept that letter away from Kaidoh.

When he'd read Echizen's letter, he missed the tiny handwriting on the bottom. Many nights after they arrived, he'd read it and re-read it until it was wrinkled, hoping for some help to deal with the sealed off Kaidoh. Then, one night, he happened to glance at the bottom. How he could have missed it, he didn't know. It said:

_P.S._

_Everyday at noon, someone comes to play. When you think Kaidoh is sharp enough to pick up a subtle hint, take him to number 23. Sit him facing North on court 4. If he doesn't snap out of it with this then I don't know what to do. Much luck._

No signature. Not like he needed one anyway. Today was the first day he thought Kaidoh might notice something other then his self despair. So, today he was taking Kaidoh there. He hoped and wished like crazy that this would work because, if it didn't, they were headed back to Echizens whether he liked it or not.

Taka sighed and moved into the bedroom to get ready for the long trip.

Kaidoh clutched the letter in his fist and thought again the many ways he wanted to hurt Momoshiro. That brat had got too egotistical since they were parted. When Taka opened the door he had said….

"_I'm going to take a shower. Oh, Momoshiro and Echizen wanted me to give these to you."_

Then he handed the bewildered Kaidoh the letters and left. Curious beyond all reason, he'd opened Momo's first and regretted it with ever word. It said:

_Hey there idiot. How are you? It's been a long time and things have sure changed. I don't know what happened with your legs and I haven't asked Ryoma so don't try to think I'm prying. All I know is that it happened a long time ago and you're still not walking. I asked Inui and he said that it was possible for you to still walk. He told me that you have just chosen to not walk. Bull. I know you Mamushi, you're not like that. What you're being right now is a coward! That's right, you're a coward! You couldn't take it if it took a long time. You'd prefer to have Inui wait on you hand and foot. You'd rather have him change his entire life just for your pride. Pft, I've never met a coward more idiotic then you are being. I thought I knew you but I guess I don't and maybe I'm glad I don't. Right about now the old Mamushi would be saying 'come here and tell that to my face you idiot. I'll kick you butt for saying that crap about me.' If you're anything like the old Mamushi, get well enough so you can kick my butt. Yes, this is a challenge. I bet Mamushi is too wimpy to take on my challenge though. I'm looking forward to the day when I can fight with you if it ever arrives._

Kaidoh ground his teeth for the umpteenth time. A challenge, eh? Momo challenging him. A part of him really wanted to rise up to the challenge. But, the larger part didn't care anymore and was dead. He decided that the letter wasn't enough just yet.

He looked down on his lap and saw Echizen's letter still sealed. He debated whether or not to open that one. Placing it in his pocket, he decided to wait. Perhaps something will be interesting enough on this next court to pique his curiosity.

Taka came out of the room fully dressed and looked hesitantly at Kaidoh. Seeing none of the earlier anger, he said nothing. He put a fake smile on his face and wheeled Kaidoh out to the waiting car.

The car ride was boring and uneventful. Kaidoh watched the lines go by on the road. When they reached their destination, Kaidoh was surprised to find a very nice court. It was situated in a park filled with trees. Next to the court were the basketball courts and further in the park were the baseball diamonds. There were even huge spots of empty land for soccer players. It was a good environment.

Taka wheeled him into the tennis courts and faced him parallel with the chain link fence. He was glad Taka was looking after him. He could decide whether to watch Taka's game or look elsewhere.

After half an hour of watching Taka warm up, Kaidoh began to look elsewhere. It was then that heard the steady 'thump, thump' of a ball. From the sounds of it, it was too big to be a tennis ball and he didn't see anyone else in the courts other then himself and Taka. That left only one other place. The basketball court. He looked over and nearly jumped out of his chair when he saw who was in the court. A boy of about fifteen years of age was bouncing a basketball. The thing that really surprised Kaidoh was the fact that he was in a wheelchair. The boy kept one hand on the wheel and the other dribbling the ball.

Curiosity got the better of him and he slowly wheeled himself out of the tennis courts and into the basketball court. The kid was too into his dribbling to know that someone was watching him. The determination in that kids face made Kaidoh suck in a breath. It reminded him of someone but at the moment it kept eluding him who.

The kid tried turning around and fumbled the ball. The ball bounced right up into Kaidoh's lap. He pretended to not see the embarrassed look on the kids' face.

"Sorry if that hit you mister." The kid said, trying to act tough.

Kaidoh let a small smile form on his lips. "Doesn't matter if it did. Nothing else could kill my legs worse then they already are."

"Che, you're the one to talk. I don't talk to losers and I can hear a loser from a mile away."

"Who are you calling a loser, brat!"

"YOU!" The kid screamed.

Kaidoh hissed. "What makes you think I've given up?"

"I told you," the kid replied easily, "I can hear it in your voice."

"And you haven't?" Kaidoh pushed.

"Of course not. See…" The kid grasped the arms of the wheelchair and awkwardly stood up. Kaidoh could tell that he was putting great strain on his legs and couldn't keep it up for long but he was impressed.

"Why do you even try? Something obviously bad happened. Why try to make it better?"

The kid slumped back into his wheelchair and gave him a long, knowing look. "I'll tell ya a story, mister. Ok?" At Kaidoh's nod, he went on. "A few years back my friends and I were playing right here on this very court. We were jokin around about all of us becoming basketball stars. We were just kids, brats from the lower part of town. We knew it could never happen but we liked to dream. Little did we know that our lives would forever be changed the next day. A hurricane came through here, ripping everything apart and tearing down the damn that keeps the water out. There were floods on these streets clear up to here…" He put his hand far above his head to show the height. "I was in my house with my parents when the damn broke. It washed away our house and everything we owned. My parents and I were swept away with it. At the last second, my mom grabbed a phone pole and put me on it. There was only room for one. She chose to sacrifice herself for me."

Kaidoh was mentally beating himself alive for even bringing up the subject. He felt horrible. This kid was fighting off tears with every word he uttered. This kid was strong. _Not stronger than you,_ a small voice said. Kaidoh ignored it.

"I'm sorry." He said.

"Che, it happened a long time. I didn't get away unscathed. A fallen tree got carried away with the flood and rammed into me, crushing my legs. I nearly drowned but somehow I made it. I made it through that living hell only to be brought into another. I found out later that both of my parents had drowned to death and several of my friends. They didn't make it out of the city. There were almost no doctors for a long time so my legs were nearly not saved. One generous doctor took notice of me and worked long hours on my legs. He told me that with rehabilitation that I would be able to walk. So the reason why I try is for my mom and my dad. I try for my friends whose dreams will never be realized. That's why."

Kaidoh bit his lip. To try after all of that took place would take a strong person. Kaidoh was sure he would have died then to go through all of that.

"So, mister, I told you my sap story, tell me yours."

Kaidoh remembered the reason why he didn't like this brat but bit off several scathing remarks. He did owe the kid. "A car accident. My lover," he looked at the kid to see if he was offended but saw nothing in the kids eyes, "was driving the car. All through my operations, he was absent. When I needed him the most, he wasn't there with me. And now I can't play tennis."

The kid snorted rudely. "Did the doctors say your legs were beyond healing?"

Kaidoh shook his head. "No."

"Let me guess, the doctors told you the exact same thing they told me but you chose to see it as your legs were screwed. Right?"

Kaidoh was about ready to wheel himself over to the punk and punch that smirk off his punny little face. The kid broke out in a laugh which angered Kaidoh more.

"I can judge by your seething that I'm correct. Well, I bet that if you were better, you couldn't beat me at basketball. After all, you're a tennis player." The kid sneered.

"You little brat!" Kaidoh yelled, winning another laugh. "I'll get better and then I'll cream you at basketball just to wipe that superior sneer off your face!"

"You think so mister? Fine. Come back here when you can walk again and I'll challenge you to a one-on-one game. But I don't think you have what it takes. I'm already further in my rehabilitation then you are."

The kid rolled himself over to Kaidoh and grabbed the ball, all the while laughing up a storm. After that he put the ball in his lap and wheeled himself away.

Kaidoh sat in the basketball court alone for a while to think. He clutched the letter in his right pocket fiercely. It was Momo's letter. Momo doesn't think I can do it, Kiadoh thought to himself. A smile played on his lips. Well, he'd show that nerdy idiot who could woop whose butt. That baka brat didn't think he could do it. Well he'd show him too. He moved his waist and blinked when he heard a crinkle sound. He'd forgotten about Echizen's letter! He took it out of his pocket and started to unfold it. It read:

_Kaidoh-sempai, I've never seen a coward snake nor do I ever want to. Snakes are strong, snakes are powerful and snakes always come back. You're strong Kaidoh-sempai. It's dead somewhere inside of you but it's still there. Come back to us again. Show us your Boomerang Snake._

_Oh, and just so you know, Inui left you during your operations so he could get his doctors certificate and agreement to be your one and only doctor. He nearly killed himself taking so many classes that take normal people eight years to complete. He completed it in three. He weighed only 90 pounds when graduation time arrived and took antidepressants. That doesn't sound like someone who felt guiltless for killing your legs._

After reading the letter, he crumpled it up fighting back the tears. That kid, that annoying, self assured brat had no one who cared whether or not he walked again. But Kaidoh had his friends. They were all alive. They were all cheering him to get better. Echizen, Taka-san, Inui, they were all there.

Firmly making his mind up, Kaidoh wheeled himself over to Taka who was in the middle of a match.

"BURNING! IS THAT ALL YOU'VE GOT!"

"Ahhhh!" The opponent sloppily returned one of Taka's power shots.

"SHOW ME THE POWER! YOU'RE SUCH A WEAKLING! COME AT ME!"

The guy dropped to the ground and hastily picked up his discarded racket and ran out of the court. Kaidoh let out a hiss and calmly wheeled himself over to the still ranting Taka and plucked the racket out of his hands.

"Huh? Oh Kaidoh, you're back. I was wondering where you were."

Kaidoh hissed again and looked away. "I want to go back to the hotel room."

Taka, who until then had been thinking that maybe Kaidoh was changing, frowned. Did something in Echizen's plan not work? Half way out to the car, Kaidoh halted, bringing Taka to a screeching halt. Taka waited patiently for the 'now take me back to Echizen's' line.

"Tomorrow," he hesitated for a moment.

Taka thought, _here we go. He's going to want to go home._

"Tomorrow, I want you to take me to a rehabilitation clinic." Kaidoh finally said.

"Sure Kaidoh. I promised you and all…" he blinked. "Wait! Did you just say rehabilitation clinic?"

Kaidoh nodded, a tiny smile on his lips. "Yes, after all, I thought that's what you idiots wanted me to do. Get better."

"No, I mean yes, I mean… Ohhhh!" Taka's eyes held a glitter in them. "I'll take you there tomorrow. Echizen listed some pretty good ones on the map. I already checked them out. We'll go tomorrow. Ok?"

Kaidoh was amused. He nodded. "Yes, sempai. Let's go back to the hotel."


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Woot! Another chapter done and all beta'ed as well. Wonderful! I is happy. I already have the last two chapters done and being beta'ed. All that's next is the next chapter and I'll have em all out to you fast, fast, fast. Hope you all like.

**Ryoma's Plan**

Chapter 5

New York was bustling so early in the morning. People walked up and down the streets as if they did so every day. They probably did, Eiji thought, as he bleakly watched the commotion from his hotel window. People in this city were horrid. They went about their daily lives with no thought of any of the people they walked next to or by. Such thoughtless creatures. Such thoughtless, heartless, horrible creatures.

Eiji roughly shoved the curtain back over the window and stared at the now darkened room in silence. He knew he was brooding, but he didn't care. He didn't care about much anymore. His marriage to Oishi wasn't going well at all. His career was going down the drain and it was all thanks to…

He roughly threw those thoughts away. He didn't need them. In fact, he didn't need anyone or anything. Dimly, he noticed the door opening and Inui arriving with a tray of something. Eiji didn't move a muscle. He was used to Oishi's babying. Inui didn't have a thing compared to Oishi.

Inui moved over to Eiji and set the tray on the table next to him. Now he could see what was on it. A sandwich and a couple of crackers with a carton of milk. Not too extravagant, but not bird-sized either, and that was the only way Eiji took his meals.

He used to eat normal meals because of Oishi's incessant blabbering, but he had quit that almost immediately. Oishi would stay with him even if he went to the bathroom, so there was no time to puke it out of his system. So, he had just refused to eat. Then Oishi had gone on a diet, and from then on there hadn't been much food in the house. Eiji knew the real reason why Oishi had gone on his so-called diet. Oishi was worried about him. Eiji's brain filed it away as a fact, but did nothing more about it. The fact that he was being guilt-tripped into eating made him angrier than anything. He didn't feel guilt at all.

In fact, he felt nothing. No, his emotions had been burnt from him since that day. Yes, that horrible day was the last day he had felt anything resembling peace. Since then, he'd had nightmares that haunted him even while he was awake. He would lie awake at night to keep the nightmares at bay. He refused to eat, wishing to die.

Inui must have been reading his thoughts, because a hand shot out and grabbed on to his. Inui gently pushed back his sleeve and fingered the scars on his wrist. His glasses hid his eyes, so Eiji couldn't even begin to know what he was thinking.

Yes, he'd even tried killing himself. Death was a sweeter mistress then life. Oishi had had to place 24/7 around-the-clock surveillance on Eiji. The only thing that had saved him was probably that and painting. He never sold his paintings to make a living, though. They relied on Oishi's writing to get them by and it had. Oh, it had a million or so times over.

He'd learned to paint when he'd finished high school. It was a hobby at the time, but he could tell that he was really very good. What had gotten him into painting was that time at Atobe's Christmas party all those years ago. Echizen's smile had stayed in Eiji's brain and played itself over and over in his mind. Ever since then, he'd wanted to paint that smile. He felt like it was something he had to do.

Roughly, he jerked his arm from out of Inui's hand and shoved his sleeve down. No use crying over spilt milk… or blood, as the case may be. He turned to look at the covered window, ignoring Inui to the best of his ability.

He returned to thinking about Echizen's smile. The mystical smile that had once kept Eiji awake at night. Now it was the nightmares that kept him awake, but that smile seemed to chase away the nightmares. If he could just hold onto that image of that smile, than he could keep the nightmares away. So he painted. He'd ripped apart painting after painting after completing them, because it just wasn't the same. Every painting lacked something, leaving a void that made him howl in despair. Why? Why wasn't he able to recreate Echizen's smile? Why wasn't he able to chase away his personal demons? Why! Damn it! WHY!

His body shook with the intensity of his thinking. A hand was placed on his arm and his body immediately calmed down. He looked over and Inui sat there, still looking at him. Eiji glared at him. Oishi would usually leave him alone and go work on his writing. Why was it that Inui had to be different?

"Can I tell you a story?" Inui asked with his soothing voice.

Eiji didn't reply. He knew that if Inui wanted to say something then he'd say it. Silence didn't affect Inui, he'd learned. As he thought, Inui went on.

"Do you know how Kaidoh lost the use of his legs?" Silence. "I thought not. No one knows. I killed his legs."

Eiji was surprised, but he let none of it show on his face. Inui? What the hell? Even though he didn't it want to, his curiosity was getting peaked. Unconsciously, his body leaned a bit toward Inui.

"We were at the Pro Tournament, and it had been stormy the past couple of days. We'd seen Tezuka and Fuji there, but they left in the middle of it. I don't know why nor did I ever check in on it, but they just weren't there anymore.

"We were one match away from becoming pros, both of us. But the ground had turned icy overnight. We drove onto a patch of black ice, and our car spun out of control. It hit a wall and smashed in half of our car… the half that Kaidoh was in. It smashed his legs in and they nearly had to amputate his legs to save him. I was the driver."

He cocked his head as if this were something that had happened to someone else. Eiji was amazed for more than one reason. One was that Inui could keep a straight face through all of this. If it were him, he'd be angry with self-righteousness. After all, it wasn't Inui's fault. Just bad luck... For another thing, there was the crap that Inui had been forced to go through. With his imagination, he could imagine everything taking place. To survive a wreck as bad as the one Inui was explaining was amazing. A third thing was that Kaidoh could love someone as seemingly emotionless as Inui. Eiji couldn't see how.

"I came out of the wreak with only a scratch, but Kaidoh came out with barely his legs whole. I left him to get my medical degree. I wanted to be able to heal the one I loved. Unknowingly, I left him when he needed me the most. When I got back, he was sick, bitter, and resentful." He smiled bitterly.

"I wanted nothing but to help him, and he turned me away. If it wasn't for the fact that I was his lover, he would have thrown me away."

His eyes had a far off, distant look in them that Eiji knew all too well. It was a look that he, himself, wore most of the time.

"I think," Eiji managed, his voice cracking. "I think it was because you were lovers that he agreed for you to stay. I wouldn't want anyone who I didn't know trying to heal me. I would want to feel as safe as possible in that situation."

He knew that he couldn't listen to that story without saying something. Damn Inui. Why'd he have to tell him? Then he saw Inui smile, and he was at a loss for what to really say anymore.

"I think so now. Thank you. I hadn't thought of that."

Eiji cocked his head like Inui had earlier. "Why not? You're one who thinks of all the possibilities. Why'd you not think that way?"

"Probably because my mind couldn't think that way for a long time. Kaidoh hates me for not being there for him."

"That's selfish," Eiji blurted. "You were by his side even when you left. How could he not understand?" He was truly confused. "You sacrificed everything for him. Your life, your career, your very existence. He's just selfish for always thinking of himself and not you."

"Is that so?" Inui remarked, his glasses glinting. "He reminds me of you."

That simple statement rocked Eiji's world. Was he really that simple-minded, to blame everything on Oishi? He looked back on the past and how he had treated Oishi. In the end, he had to admit it was true. He was a horrible person. He'd been too locked away in his depression to even think about another person.

Oishi had sacrificed everything, just like Inui. He had wanted to reach Echizen, as a goal once high school was out. It was the same for all their friends with the exception of Momo. Momo had disappeared after that Christmas party and never returned to complete high school. But, the rest had had Echizen in mind when they went their separate ways.

Eiji looked at Inui and decided it was only fair to say something back. He didn't have to voice the worst part of his life… just something.

"When high school was over," he began. "We all had Echizen as our goal. You, me, Oishi, Tezuka, Fuji, Kaidoh, we all believed our life was tennis and to be together." He paused, because thinking of the past was bringing back too many good memories. "You, Kaidoh, Tezuka, and Fuji went to the Pro Tournament, while Oishi and I decided to wait. We shouldn't have… I now realize that, but it's too late for should haves.

"My oldest sister called us one day and told us that she was getting a divorce. She wanted us to take care of her oldest son. Her youngest was a baby and still needed his mother. We agreed to take care of my nephew for however long it took her to get settled in." He bit back the tears that he was sure were forming. Just saying 'nephew' was hard for him.

"My nephew's name was Seth. He had an American father. He came to live with us, and he never really left. Her divorce took years. The father waged a huge case against her, and she had to use everything she had to keep the boys away from him. He was horrible. He would beat Seth when he came over, and Oishi and I had to nearly shoot him to leave. He was a monster… But he had money. My sister didn't. In the end, she won, but it was harsh and she lost nearly everything she had. She had to live with Oishi and me for a long time before she got back on her feet." He hugged himself. This was harder than he thought.

"What happened to the boy?" Inui asked.

Eiji smiled warily. "She decided to let him stay with us, because he didn't want to leave. Somewhere in the two years he was with us, he came to believe that Oishi and I were his fathers. He called his real father 'that bad man'. He was two when he began living with us and was four when the divorce was settled. With Oishi's and my help, we were able to videotape him beating Seth and showed it to the court. He lost all parental rights to both boys."

Inui smiled. "Good. I would hate to see what would have happened if he had gotten any parental rights. As a doctor, I would have been subject to turn him in."

Eiji smiled ruefully. "Yeah, I think I would have fought for him at any cost if that had happened. No child deserves that."

"So? Then what happened to him?"

Eiji winced. He hadn't meant to go so far already. He hesitated about going further. He liked his friends. He didn't want them to blame him… Maybe he did. This was all his fault, after all. If he just hadn't…. Eiji decided to go on. No harm in it.

"Seth was like our son that we know we can never have. He treated us like the father he never really had. It was a perfect match, and my sister thought so as well. Seth wanted to be like me. I taught him my special jumps. We were out walking, him and I, and it was crowded, because it was rush hour when everyone was getting out of work. I thought we were safe. All of a sudden, he did a flip that he was still practicing, and he tripped and fell… into the middle of the road. A car didn't see him, and…" He couldn't go on.

The tears were falling unashamed from his face. Inui placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, but nothing more. He didn't offer meaningless words. He didn't try to smile and say it would all be okay. He just sat there and waited patiently for Eiji to go on.

"The doctors told me that he had died instantly. There wasn't anything they could have done to save him."

"I see," Inui said matter-of-factly. "And now you see yourself as the one responsible for Seth dying."

Eiji glared at him. "Wouldn't you?" he snorted, before Inui could answer. "How could you? You wouldn't know my pain and suffering. You couldn't know."

Suddenly, a hand grabbed him and forced him to his feet. He had only a second to acknowledge that he was standing before Inui took off. They went down the elevator and went to the street. Inui hailed a cab and gave directions to some place.

"I realized that you were definitely right. I don't know the pain you are going through," he said calmly.

For the rush Eiji was just put through, he'd expected Inui to at least be out of breath. Life just wasn't fair. It didn't take long to get where they were going. Inui pulled him out of the cab and paid for the trip and off they went. Eiji didn't even have the time to think, let alone retaliate. Inui walked with a purpose to his step. When he was this way, Eiji found it was easier to just go along. He, if no one else, remembered the exact taste of one of Inui's strange drinks.

Eiji nearly stopped in his tracks. It had been years since he thought of Inui and his crazy drinks. It was even less since Seth died. He hadn't thought of anyone but himself. What did that mean?

He wasn't given a chance to answer himself. He was gently pushed down onto a bench and, before he knew it, was left alone. He gathered his wits about him. Sometimes he thought that Inui was stronger mentally then Oishi.

When he gathered his wits, he nearly jumped. He wasn't as alone as he'd thought. He was sitting next to a woman. A very pretty woman, actually. She turned and smiled at him.

"Hello."

"Hi," he croaked.

His voice was raw from a lot of talking. He looked around and saw that he was in a park of some sort. It was pretty. He wondered why Inui had dragged him out here.

"It's very pretty here," she said, voicing his thoughts.

He jumped, startled. "Yes, it is." He inhaled deeply. "Pretty enough to get lost in," he remarked.

Now it was her turn to look startled. "Lost?"

Her eyes were disturbingly familiar. Then it was gone in a flash, and Eiji wondered if he had just imagined it.

"I'm sorry," he said without thinking. "Did I say something wrong?"

She smiled prettily. "No. Not anymore." He cocked his head when she didn't go on. She seemed lost in her thoughts. "I'll tell you because you look like a handsome young man," she said with a grin.

"Five years ago, this week, I brought my daughter here to play. She was such the social butterfly. Every person in this park could tell you a little about her." Her eyes still weren't looking at him. "I came here one day, like all the other days, to let her play as usual. Nothing seemed wrong. It was a beautiful day, and everything seemed to be just right. I was in school at that time, so I brought a college book to read while she played." Her smile was tight, as if she had to force it.

"It seemed only minutes had passed but, when I looked up, she was gone. I called her name, but to no avail. She didn't come running out to me. She wasn't hiding. No one seemed to know where she was. I had the entire park staff looking for her. Then someone found her, a little ways away in an alley." Then she looked at him, and it was like he was looking into a mirror. It was disturbing.

"She'd been stabbed to death." That sentence seemed like it took everything she had in her to say. Her shoulders shook with barely contained tears. "I remember the people's horror around me, I vaguely remember everything else. The sirens, the police, my husband, everything seemed like one huge blur."

He knew what she was talking about. It was like that with Seth. The police, the ambulance, the doctors, Oishi, had all seemed like a blur. Then he knew… this woman knew him. Not as a person; but through experience, she knew him perfectly.

She gurgled out the next few sentences. "My husband blamed me for her death, and so did I. If I'd paid more attention to her, then she wouldn't be dead. I told that to myself for a long time. Then someone snapped me out of it. A man got to know me, and nearly slapped me. He yelled at me for the longest time about needing to care. Somewhere in there, I saw how I was and I hated myself for being that way. I hated my husband for helping to make me that way. The next few months I got myself the help I needed. I got myself on anti-depressants, and I got myself a divorce." Eiji was startled, and she smiled. "It's okay now. I realized that without our daughter, our spark had died out, and he was harming me more then he was healing me. He agreed with me. It was mutual.

"Through counseling, I learned that it wasn't completely my fault. It was a collective of bad luck that had piled on me all at once. I worked through everything, and now I'm able to return to this park again." She smiled and looked at all the people in the park. "You see, she's not dead." She pointed all around the park. "They still remember her. She's alive in their hearts, as well as mine." She looked at Eiji. "Yours is still alive in your heart as well. I'd heard that the Japanese set up memorials in their own homes to remember the dead. I hope you did that for whoever you lost."

He was startled again. How did she know? "How'd you know?" he wondered, voicing his thought.

She smiled. "Your eyes look just like mine did: lost and alone. I wanted to show you that you're not alone. Even I wasn't alone. There have been many parents who lose their children for one single lapse of attention. You're not alone." She looked at the sky. "Well, it looks like I'd better get back home. I have dinner to make." He cocked his head to one side, and she seemed to know what he was asking. "I got re-married to the man who snapped me out of my depression. Turns out he was in love with me for the longest time. I think this marriage is a hundred times better then my last marriage." She turned. "I wish you happiness and love around every corner. You have good friends, never forget."

With that, she was gone. Tears were falling down Eiji's face, but he didn't care. He had never cared who saw his tears. He wasn't ashamed.

A pair of envelopes dropped into his lap and he looked up to see Inui walking away. He picked up the first envelope and tore it open. He pulled out the letter and began to read…

_Eiji,_

_Get well, Eiji. Become half of the Golden Pair once more. There are no two people like you and Oishi. I'll be waiting to take on the Golden Pair when you're well again. Don't make me disappointed. I want to play the famed Golden Pair and beat them, but it's not the Golden Pair without you, Eiji. I'll be waiting._

_Ryoma Echizen_

His hands shook. Echizen. His goal. He was calling a challenge to Eiji. He tore the second letter open more gently.

_Eiji-senpai,_

_Yo, get well. I have a date with you at an all-you-can-eat burger shop when you get back. Don't make me go there alone. Maybe we'll even drag Ryoma with us. I can't let him win the all-you-can-eat contest. I'll even take you on any day, Eiji. Don't make me take on Ryoma alone. Best buds don't do that to one another. You know I can't put up a fight against him._

_Your pal,_

_Momoshiro_

Eiji gurgled a laugh. How like Momo-chan. He laughed mentally. It'd been years since he'd thought like that. It'd been years since he'd felt like this. That woman was right. He did have the most wonderful friends in the universe.

At the thought of friends, he looked up and saw Inui standing a few feet away. He smiled his first real smile.

"Inui, nya. What do you say we go out to eat, nya? How long do we have, nya?

Inui's smile was from ear to ear and made Eiji feel all bubbly inside. "Echizen told me we have a year."

"Hmm, a year. Do you think you can out-eat me in burgers in a year? Seems like I have a date with two men and a burger shop in a year."

"I don't know," he said, seriously thinking about it. "I say we go and gather data on the subject. I'll even fix you a special Inui Special Drink for you."

Eiji's face contorted into a horror-stricken, pain-filled expression. "NYA! I am so not drinking one of your drinks, INUI!"

He made a dash with Inui right behind him, intent on catching up. Eiji's smile split his face from ear to ear. Maybe things were going to be better after all, was Eiji's last thought before he had to think of some way to lose Inui and his mad ideas.


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: Woot! Another chapter done. Actually, I have all of them done. Review fast and I'll release the chapters fast. hint hint. Anywho, this was my favorite chapter to write. Please don't kill me Tezuka/Fuji fans for this chapter. I didn't do anything horrible really. I'm a good girl I am. Thanks to all my reviewers. I appreciate all the lovely, wonderful reviews. They keep me alive. –breathes reviews in oxygen tank- See. Now I hope you all enjoy this fic.

**Ryoma's Plan**

Chapter 6

The day was warm as usual. Days in California were usually hot. Fuji sat on the bench while he watched Momo work out with someone else on the court. They'd gone to a couple of courts that Echizen had recommended them to go to on the map. Fuji hadn't picked up a racket yet. No matter how much Momo muttered that no one was good enough to beat him, Fuji wouldn't pick up the damned racket.

Fuji's right hand began to spasm. He grabbed onto it with his left hand in hopes of stopping the spasms, but to no avail. With a hand like this, there was no way he was going to be able to hold a racket. A single tear glistened in his eyes; he could feel it. He wiped it away before Momo could see it.

"Ah, it's so hot out here!" Momo complained, appearing out of nowhere.

He dropped onto the bench and grabbed the water bottle. He quickly opened the container and poured the entire contents over his head. He tossed the bottle into his bag and vigorously shook his head like a dog just getting out of a bath. He hadn't bothered to spike his hair like usual today, so it was a mess of wild hair. He glared up at the sun and threw an arm over his eyes to get some shade.

"Yes, it is," Fuji replied, amused by Momo's antics.

"Why don't you play me? That would be a whole heck of a lot better," he remarked, his arm still shading his eyes.

Fuji had been so entranced by Momo's antics that his hand had stopped shaking. But, now that Momo mentioned playing, his hand had starting shaking again. Carefully, so as not to catch his attention, Fuji hid his hand behind his back.

"I don't think I want to play today. Sorry, Momo." It was the same reply as it had been every day Momo had asked him to play.

Momo sighed. "You've said that for the past month. When will you be ready if not today?" he said seriously.

Fuji froze. This was unlike the Momo he knew. The Momo he knew would have already given up, but this one kept at him. It was almost like this Momo was stronger and more able than the Momo in the past. It made Fuji's heart ache. Was this Momo totally different than the one he knew? Was the difference bad?

"I just don't want to," he said lamely. There was no fighting this new Momo.

Momo sighed again. "You know, I heard from a recent friend that you and Tezuka dropped out of the Pro Tournament a few years ago. He said that you two were near hits for becoming pros. What happened?"

At the mention of that event, the spasms in his hand got even worse. It was shaking his entire arm. He remembered that day as clearly as if it were this day. He remembered the rain and the thunder and the lightning. He remembered the sweet tennis courts and the wins he'd already earned for himself. Oh, he remembered quite well. As he remembered, his body started reacting. He knew it was getting very bad. He knew he had to leave.

He stood up abruptly. "I'm leaving." He managed to get up and then ran off the court.

He cared nothing for the looks people gave to him as he left. He cared even less for the bewildered look Momo gave him. He just needed to get out of there and in a hurry. He ran to the street and lifted his good hand to call for a ride. A cab pulled over. He opened the door and rushed in, not caring what the person even looked like.

He reached into his wallet and pulled out a fifty. "Drive anywhere. I don't care. I want no one else to be picked up. If I'm satisfied with your driving, I'll tip you well afterwards."

"Okay…" the driver said.

By the voice, it was a female. He didn't care. He didn't care about anything or anyone right now. His memories kept haunting him. It made the impeccable sunny sky seem dark and dangerous, like that day. He curled up into a ball to keep from shaking. He didn't want to feel. He didn't want to remember anymore. He wished more than anything that he could forget. But God wouldn't grant him even that much peace.

Half an hour probably passed before he was remotely alright. He didn't know because he wasn't keeping track of the time, but the driver was keeping her promise and drove around, not picking anyone else up. He felt a little bit better. Then she spoke up.

"So, you play tennis like your friend?"

"Huh?" he asked, clearly confused.

She laughed. "You have a racket beside you, so I thought you played tennis like your friend."

Fuji hyperventilated. Did he? He looked beside him and, sure enough, there was a racket. He had probably picked it up in his haste to get out. He didn't remember picking it up, but that wasn't the point. He'd done things before when he was in that type of mood that he never remembered.

With a shaking hand, he fingered the handle. It was his old racket. Momo had been so adamant about him bringing a racket that he hadn't made a fuss and just brought one to make him happy. The grip tape was starting to peel off. That's how long he hadn't touched it. Years.

"I played. A long time ago."

"Really?" she asked confused. "Being 'his' friend, I would have expected you to be some famous tennis player or something."

He smiled ruefully. "You keep saying 'him,' and I don't know who you mean," he informed his driver.

She smiled; he could see it in the rearview mirror. "Ryoma Echizen. I was the cab driver that took you and your three friends to his house."

Then he remembered. "Yes, I remember now." He mustered a smile. "I thought you looked familiar." She hadn't, but he was good at lying.

"Well, I hate to inform you about this, but my shift is nearly over." He was truly disappointed. "But, if you like, you can come with me," she told him softly.

He cocked his head. "How do you know I have nowhere to go?"

She laughed and smirked. "I don't. I just guessed, but you confirmed that guess just now."

She was gutsy; he had to give her that. "Saa, I guess I'll have to concede that point to you. Sure, I'll go. Where are we going?"

She laughed again. "You should first check to see where I'm going, before you agree to go someplace with a stranger," she educated him.

He smiled, this time for real. "Saa, you're not a stranger. I know you. I don't think you'll take me someplace horrible."

She grinned. "You're right. But I'm still keeping the place I'm going a secret." Her grin turned into a mischievous smile.

"You sure know how to get your own way, don't you?" he told her.

"In this city, you'd better know how to get your way or you don't survive," she said matter-of-factly.

He nodded his head to show he conceded the point to her again. There was no more talk, but the driving seemed to have a clear destination to it now instead of a confused wandering. They stopped at an old building and she stepped out of her car, clearly waiting for him to get out.

He got out and scanned the sky. It was still beautiful, nearly midday. A small wind wafted its way through the trees, creating a pleasant breeze. He stretched, and his back popped once. That was from the abnormal way he had been sitting.

"Bring your racket." The girl appeared beside him and pointed to the back seat.

He grabbed the racket without thinking about it. It wasn't until he was at the old building that he remembered that he had it. He blinked and tested the weight on his own racket. It was as perfect as it used to be. The only thing wrong with it was the tape peeling off. That was easily fixable. His hand shook a little.

"Come on," she yelled at him, already way ahead of him.

His feet took off before he told them to. What was happening? He went to the back of the building and saw a bunch of tennis courts. These were some of the ones on the map Echizen had given them, if his memory was right.

"You… play tennis," he said in disbelief.

She smiled secretively. "Yeah. It's been my dream to reach the pros." She hooked a strand of long brown hair behind her ear. "Now," she said, shaken from her reverie. "Let's go play. I want to see how good you are."

He began to shake uncontrollably. "I… can't," he stammered.

She gave him a leveled glare. "Yes, you can. Now get over here."

Someone laughed off in the near distance. "Look, Mica dragged another person here to beat the hell outta. Wish I could watch this match."

Mica glared at whoever said that. "I don't care about your reason for not playing, but you do play. I know you do and that you can. I can sense people's strengths, and you're strong. I want to play you." She stamped an impatient foot. "Now come on!"

Again, Fuji's feet started moving without him giving them orders. It was like his body was following her commands. Weird. He found himself standing in a court. It brought back memories, good and bad. His body shook even more violently then before.

"Smooth or rough?" she asked, positioning her racket on the ground.

"I don't care. I don't even want to be here."

She sniffed. "And I don't care that you don't care, so we're even." She twirled the racket. "Smooth." It landed right side up. "I get to serve."

She went to her line and arched her back when she saw that he was ready. Then, she hit the ball with a force that Taka-san would have been amazed at. His eyes couldn't even keep track of the ball as it shot past him, a no touch serve.

"Love, 15," someone said.

Again and again the ball was a no touch serve. He was shaking so badly watching her serve that he couldn't keep his mind on the game. That powerful swing made him remember…

"Game for Mica," the same person said.

Fuji looked at the person, only to see Momo keeping score. Fuji looked at him wildly. He halted the game and ran over to him.

"You can get me out of this, can't you?" he asked the tall tennis player.

Momo smiled ruefully. "You accepted the game, so you can't quit until she says so."

"I… I can't keep… keep doing this." His voice shook with fear. "I… I'm about to break," he whispered.

"I'm sorry," Momo said patiently. "Just lose and then everything will be okay."

Fuji walked dejectedly back to the court. Momo was right about just losing, but he thought he might break even if he did. He shook and readied himself. Then the ball was thrown at him, and he winced as he caught the ball.

"It's your turn. Oh, and don't think about losing on purpose. I won't let you off this court until you score at least one game from me," she told him.

He shook harder, dropping the racket and ball and falling onto his knees. He wrapped his arms around his legs to keep from shaking so bad. He'd forgotten that he had to serve. He had to… swing the racket. He had to… play.

Someone was gently rubbing his back and whispering, "It's okay. Fuji, what the hell happened to you?"

Fuji looked at Momo wildly and grabbed onto his sweat-soaked shirt. "I didn't do it on purpose!" he yelled.

Momo winced but took the yell. "What didn't you do on purpose?"

Fuji gulped. He didn't want to remember. He really didn't… But he would have to if he was to get out of this stupid game.

"I didn't mean to kill him," he croaked.

"Kill who?" Momo soothingly asked.

"It was the third day of the Pro tournament. Both Tezuka and I had won all of our matches. It was said that we were definitely going to become pros. Tezuka had one more match that day, but I had completed mine. I told him I'd go home early and cook him something." He had to stop because his mouth was parched. He swallowed. "It was raining that day in part of the town. I took a back ally to get home faster…"

Fuji could see it all in his mind. The cloudless sky was suddenly filled with dark, foreboding clouds that thundered.

"A man roughly stopped me and took out a knife. He was about to rape me when I remembered that I had my racket in my hand. I… retaliated and hit him hard with the racket. Faster and faster I hit him, harder and harder. I used serve after serve against him. I didn't even notice when he'd dropped his knife and dropped unconscious onto the ground. All I knew was that I had to keep hitting him. And I did.

"The police found me there, hacking away at the body. They had to forcibly pull me off the guy because I wouldn't stop. The blood… oh God, the blood!" He stared at his hands and saw imaginary blood dripping down them. "The medics later said that he'd died of many wounds. The one to his skull was busted in and pieces of bone had been imbedded into his brain, and his ribcage had collapsed onto his heart. A rib bone punctured his lungs. Those are the awful wounds I did to him!"

He could see those injuries again as if it were yesterday. The blood was all over his hands and all over the ground and splashed onto the walls. It was a horrible vision and made him want to puke. The guys' legs were broken and his shirt was severely torn up.

"The police threw me in jail, which I have to admit was the right decision. I wasn't well. But, the next day, during the hearing, after many hours of arguing, I was deemed innocent and sentenced to spend years in therapy. I was said to have been defending myself. But I can't forget. I can't forget the way things actually went. I'm a murderer." He looked at Mica and Momo wildly. "Now do you see why I can't play!"

"No, I don't," Mica said a bit hurriedly. "You have a match with me. I don't care if you hacked away the President of the United States. I want this match."

Momo gently threw Fuji onto the ground and pinned him. "Listen to me. They were right. You were acting in your self defense. It wasn't your fault. Nothing you did was your fault. I'm just sorry you had to quite tennis because of that jackass. He had no right to live if he was going to rape you. You listening to me?"

Fuji was wide eyed and seemed to not be listening. Momo shook him hard and slapped him. Fuji blinked and finally seemed to be looking at Momo instead of the past.

"Do you hear me?" he asked again.

Fuji nodded. "But these memories won't leave me," he whispered.

"They never will," Momo said soothingly. "You just have to know how to deal with them."

He picked up the shaken older man and brought him to his chest. Lovingly, he rubbed the back of Fuji's neck.

"There, there. It's okay. Things will be alright. You will be alright. It wasn't your fault," he chanted in a sort of mantra.

Slowly, Fuji's shaking subsided and he felt better than he had in a long time. Equally slowly, he lifted his head and glanced into Momo's startling purple eyes. He decided this new Momo was amazing. He rose toward Momo and gently planted a kiss on those warm lips. Shock flew through him when he felt the softness of another person's lips on his. They weren't Tezuka's. They weren't commanding and they weren't submitting. They were equal.

He deepened the kiss and was thrilled when Momo didn't resist. Wonderful, beautiful Momoshiro deepened the kiss even more and Fuji flew. He forgot about pasts, he forgot about Tezuka and Echizen. There was only the now and him and Momo. Nothing else mattered.

Gently, Momo pulled back and stroked Fuji's head. It was the most exhilarating feeling Fuji had ever experienced. They were both breathing hard from the kiss.

"Feel better now?" Momo asked when he enough breath.

Fuji nodded. "I do. Thank you." He meant it for a great many reasons.

Momo unwound his arms from Fuji and stood up. It was then that Fuji remembered that girl.

"Mica!"

"Well, you two finally remember that I'm here," a far off voice said. "Is it safe to come back?" she asked.

"Yes, it's fine to come back," Fuji said.

She walked around the building and grinned at the two guys. "You two are lucky that this court is hidden from everyone's eyes." She pointed to the trees that hid the court from view.

Fuji appreciated that fact. "Saa, I see what you mean."

She laughed. "You should also be glad that I like you two. I had to scare off a couple of tennis players just because you two wanted to kiss here. Female and male would have been fine, but most people would be angry to find a male kissing another male."

Both men had the grace to blush. They'd both forgotten she was there. Momo rubbed the back of his neck ruefully.

"Sorry. We didn't mean to…" He trailed off.

She smiled. "Don't worry. I like you two, so I don't mind."

Momo smiled his most charming smile. "My boyfriend has been gone for a long time, and Fuji was just so beautiful… and he needed me." He grinned.

Fuji just smiled. He knew. They both had lovers to go back to. This was just a one time thing. He didn't mind. It sort of hurt, but he felt something within him healing as well.

"Ahhh, I see. So you want me to keep quiet." She laughed. "I will, only 'cuz I like ya. But I think it's a waste for you two to be gay." She winked at them.

Momo held his heart. "Oh, how I wither from the hurt." He grinned at her. "Back in school, the team was the school heartthrobs. We never really wanted for female company, if we wanted it. But our males were much more interesting. Especially Echizen." His smile was like the sun coming out from behind the clouds.

She gasped. "Oh, you're Echizen's boyfriend!" she squealed.

He rubbed the back of his next ruefully. "Guilty."

Fuji just shook his head. Momo had a way with the girls. In fact, Momo had his way with males too. Fuji grinned at that thought. Maybe he'd get out of that match.

"YOU!" She pointed at Fuji. "Don't you be thinking that our match is over!" She eyed him fiercely. "I _will_ play you and I don't care if you did just kiss a guy. Your match is still on until you get one game from me."

Fuji started. Damn. Oh well. He gently walked over and picked up the racket. He waited for the shaking, but it never came. He was surprised. He glanced over at Momo and saw that he was already off the court and that Mica was on her side waiting for her serve.

He walked to his line and threw the ball into the air. He arched his back and sprang forth to hit the ball. It was perfect. It whizzed by her, and she couldn't even blink because it went too fast. He smiled.

"As Echizen would say, mada mada dane."

Everyone seemed to be smiling. He served again when the ball was tossed back. It was another no touch serve. Faster and faster he hit, and surprisingly, it didn't bring up unwanted memories. It felt good. The bending back and releasing of all of his muscles felt natural. He remembered why he loved the game so much.

He ended up winning against Mica. It was tense in some parts, but otherwise he was back to normal. He walked over to his bag that Momo brought with him and took out the towel to dry his soaked face.

A piece of paper fluttered to the ground. He put the towel around his neck and bent down to pick it up. It was the letter Momo had given him from Echizen. He sat down on the bench and picked it up. He then carefully opened the letter and took out the contents. One was a letter, and the other was wrapped in it. He opened the letter and freed the other piece. The letter was simple:

_Fuji-senpai,_

_Don't let the past eat you alive. Let it heal you instead. Our past is meant to be a cradle, not a prison. Set that prisoner, set you free._

_Ryoma Echizen_

Inside the paper was a snapshot taken when they were at Atobe's Christmas party. They were all smiling, laughing and having fun. They were so young. He didn't even know he was crying until a drop dripped onto the photo. He wiped it off and then did the same to his eyes. Echizen was amazing too.

He looked at the letter and saw it had a P.S. on it:

_P.S._

_Mica is my revenge on you making me dress as a female. I thought she was fitting revenge._

Fuji laughed. For the first time in who knows how many years, Fuji laughed. It scared the nearby birds out of their trees, but Fuji didn't care about them.

"Hey Fuji!" Mica called. She rushed over when she saw he was ready. "I have this friend who wants to play you. Her name is Rebecca. Would it be okay?"

Fuji smiled. "Saa, I don't know," he said playfully.

Mica grinned. "Okay, I'll call her over. Rebecca!"

A beautiful woman walked over in short stylish blue shorts and a white tank top shirt. She wore her shoulder length black hair back in a pony tail, and clips held the stray ends up.

"Hi, I'm Rebecca." She had a lilting voice, like English wasn't her first language.

His eyes opened. "I'm Fuji. Pleased to meet you." Something about her…

"Let's get started," was the brisk reply.

Fuji got up and stood on his line. Momo gave him a thumbs up. Then the battle began. This chick was good, was Fuji's first impression. Actually, this girl was damned good. Fuji could tell that she was holding back a lot of her power. Fuji was using all of his triple counters, but they seemed to not work. It was like the person he was playing knew about his triple counters and knew how to counter those. Then, the person did a Twist Serve, and Fuji had his answer. He smiled and went all out against this 'girl'.

"You must be having fun, Echizen," Fuji said off-handedly.

"Mada mada dane, Fuji-senpai." Ryoma grinned.

"RYO!" Momo screamed from the sidelines.

Fuji grinned. "Beat me so you can go greet your lover," he said.

Ryoma smirked and did just that. He walked over gracefully and gave his overjoyed boyfriend a hug. They walked arm-in-arm over to Fuji.

"So," Ryoma said as he sat down. "You better now? I can tell with your form. You haven't lost a lot of it."

"No, no I haven't. I think I gained a lot more today," he remarked. "Why'd you dress in drag?" he asked.

Echizen grinned. Damn! For a girl he was pretty hot, Fuji had to admit. Then he remembered that Eiji said that Echizen would be the perfect model for his paintings and photos. He'd have to start badgering Echizen again for the pose. He'd been doing everything so half-heartedly these past years, but now he could really concentrate on him. This was going to be fun.

"I needed to see that you were better. If I played as me, then you would have already lost in your mind, and I would never see what you were capable of. Now I can see your strengths and weaknesses."

"Already thinking about the game I will play you when I'm fully trained, are you?" Fuji asked playfully. He felt good.

Echizen tossed back his head and reached for the imaginary cap that was supposed to be on his head. Fuji laughed mentally.

Echizen swore. "Yes, I am," he sighed. "You will probably be the furthest one along, actually." He checked his watch.

"What do you mean by that?" Fuji asked

Echizen sighed. "I just got word from Taka that Kaidoh is receiving treatment for his legs." Both Fuji and Momo paid more attention. "The doctors say that he won't be walking for another year. We're going to have to go slowly with his training. So for one year, everyone will be gone. I will call the others and tell them they have a year to complete their personal training."

Fuji panicked for a second. A whole year without Tezuka? That would be hard. Then he looked at Momo and resumed smiling. It would be alright. He had his friends here.

"What about you, Echizen?" he asked the younger man.

Echizen's golden eyes flickered with some hidden emotion. "I'm going to make rounds throughout the year. I'll check in secretly on everyone while I do my tours. That's another reason I chose those places. I'll be having tournaments at those cities at one point or another this year."

"I see. How long will you stay here?" Fuji asked because he knew Momo was dying to ask that.

"For another few hours. I have to leave soon. I have to be in another city by tomorrow." His golden eyes seemed to flash as they looked at Fuji. "Why?"

Fuji knew that Momo was going to kill him if he didn't get some time alone with Echizen. He looked over at Mica and grinned.

"Mica? Would you do me a favor?" he asked the girl.

"Sure. Anything. What is it?"

"Can you take Echizen and Momo back to the house while I stay here? I want to play a couple more games with you."

She made an 'o' with her mouth to show that she caught on. Smart girl. "Okay. Sure. I'll agree. I'll even do it for free."

Echizen laughed, which surprised Fuji. That laugh sounded like bells tinkling. It was rich and beautiful. When had Echizen started laughing so much? It was a shame that Fuji had to miss all the other times. Made him want to make Echizen laugh more.

"Actually, I was thinking of something while I watched you two play," Echizen said with dancing eyes. "I want to train you. I want to make you the female star in the world of tennis. Would you like that?"

Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped in a gape. "R-really?" she asked.

"Yes, really. I want to train my eight friends so it wouldn't be anything at all to train you. Besides, I'd been meaning to get into the female world somehow. Maybe I should dress in drag more often and just show up in the female tennis world."

She looked horrified. Fuji hid his grin. He knew Echizen wouldn't do that. From what he could see, Echizen had more on his plate by being the male tennis star then he could handle. He didn't need to be the star of the female world either.

"No, no. That's fine. I'll just have you train me and it'll be like you playing. How's that sound?"

Fuji stifled his laugh. She actually thought Echizen was serious. Poor girl. He could see it in Echizen's dancing eyes that he wasn't serious. Echizen snorted.

"Like I'd do that. Really." He confirmed Fuji's thoughts. "I'll just train you. In fact, I'll house you as well. You won't have to do this job anymore. You'll be so busy with training that you won't have time to think about a job. How's that sound?"

He left her gaping again. "Like a dream." She pinched herself. "OW! Nope, it's not a dream." She gave him a brilliant smile and said, "I'll drive you anywhere you want, 'cuz today's my last day as a cab driver, Echizen-sama." She stressed the 'sama'.

Everyone winced, even Mica. Her Japanese was horrible. Everyone laughed. This was turning out to be the best day in Fuji's life. He quickly said good-bye to everyone and then sat down on the bench to think.

He was a little worried what the future would bring, but he knew he had friends to back him up. It sounded like Kaidoh was making a full recovery. Good for him. Momo would need their rivalry again to take training seriously.

He thought about Tezuka and what he was doing. He hoped his lover was alright. He wished he could call Tezuka and tell him that he was okay, but he knew he couldn't. That could hurt whatever healing was going on with Oishi. So he'd be patient and believe. That's what made him come all the way to California. He believed that Echizen could heal them. This was his way.

He bent down to pick up a ball. Time to start practicing. Who knows what type of heavy training Echizen had in mind. Better to be prepared then not. He arched backward and let loose his muscle in the serve. He was grinning from ear to ear for hours after that. People who came to the courts could see that this man really loved tennis. Things were finally looking up.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note: Eep! I'm being attacked by my readers. –sniffles- I'm such a horrible author. Ah well. I'm hoping this chapter makes up for the last chapter. Promise, it was a one time thing. The evil plot bunnies told me to write it. Thanks all for the reviews. Even though I'm the evilest author in history now I still appreciate the reviews. Here's Tezuka's story.

**Ryoma's Plan**

Chapter 7

Tezuka Kunimitsu checked his watch for the seventh time that hour. Oishi and he had been walking around since morning. They'd been in Vegas for over four months now, and Oishi was filling out quite nicely. With no Eiji around to guilt-trip Oishi, he'd been able to eat as much as Tezuka was able to get him.

He sighed mentally. That wasn't all true. Oishi still ate like a bird, picking at his food here and there. He'd finish the meal… eventually, but it sometimes took hours of just sitting in one restaurant. It had gotten to the point where Tezuka hated meal time.

He looked at his watch again and sighed out loud. It was as he thought, noon. Time to stop and eat. It was his job to remember eating. It was his job to bring Oishi out of whatever was bugging him.

His hand clenched. If he couldn't bring his love out of his depression, what made Echizen think that he would be able to bring Oishi out? It was a question that haunted him even while he slept.

Unconsciously, his hand slipped into his pocket and he fingered the letters Momo had given them before they left. He'd wanted to read the letters but, at the same time, he didn't. What did Echizen have to say to him? Could Oishi be the one who was supposed to heal him? Could he have been mistaken?

He slipped his hand out, leaving the letter where it was. He was too scared to look at the letter for now. He decided to speak up.

"It's time to find some place to eat," he said simply.

Oishi nodded to show that he'd heard. They hadn't talked much, which wasn't unusual. They hadn't talked a lot when they were kids either. Besides, Oishi was the one who usually talked then, and that was the problem. He was hardly talking at all now.

Tezuka glanced up the road and saw a sit-down diner. That looked like it would be good. He led Oishi over to the diner and waited patiently to sit down. They were lead to a window seat and given menus and had their drink orders taken. Tezuka glanced at the menu for a second before choosing something. He gently folded the menu and placed it on the edge of the table.

He watched as Oishi's eyes scanned row after row of food. Those eyes were dark, too dark. Finally, he folded his own menu and patiently looked at Tezuka. He raised his hand and was satisfied when a waitress promptly showed up.

"Are ya all ready ta order?" she asked, her accent only slightly heavy.

Tezuka nodded. "I'll have the fried chicken with mashed potatoes and biscuits." She nodded as she wrote. Then she looked pointedly at Oishi.

"I'll have a single chicken breast with nothing else." His voice was so low that she had to lean in to hear him.

"Is that all right, honey? You look like ya all need some meat on them bones."

Oishi smiled one of his disarming smiles. "No thanks. I'll be fine."

She looked troubled. "Well, all right then." She took the menus and walked away.

Tezuka waited a second and then said, "I need to use the bathroom. I'll be back."

Oishi nodded.

Tezuka walked toward the bathroom, but when Oishi was out of sight, he changed his direction and headed for the kitchen. The girl who just served them was talking to another woman. He caught her eye and jerked his head slightly to show he wanted to talk to her. She came over.

"I want you to put some fries with that and make a fuss when he tells you that the order is wrong." He looked at her. "Is that okay?"

She smiled broadly. "I got it all clear. Ya all tryin to get 'im to eat?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yes."

With that, he walked back to the table. They were the only ones in the restaurant, so it didn't take long for their orders to arrive. As he thought, Oishi made a fuss about the fries.

"I didn't order fries. I said only the chicken."

The girl didn't look at all harried. "Oh my, is that right? What am I all gunna do?"

To Tezuka's eyes, it looked as if the girl was going to burst out laughing. He hoped Oishi was too depressed to see it.

"You can take back my order and get rid of them is what you can do," he said softly. Tezuka suppressed the smile. He was.

She looked hurt. "Ya all wanna know why this here restaurant is so good? It's 'cuz the waitresses are graded. If I take this here food back, then I'll get a horrible grade."

Tezuka's brows rose in amazement. This girl was good. She had judged Oishi's nature perfectly. Oishi looked cornered. Tezuka busied himself with eating so that he wouldn't have to partake in the discussion.

Finally, Oishi relented. She even got him to promise to empty his plate. Tezuka nodded mentally. He'd made a good decision.

The next hour was the best time of Tezuka's life in Vegas. One older-looking woman stopped by the table with a full glass of milk.

"Here you go, deary," she said, depositing the glass in front of Oishi.

"What's this?" he asked, totally confused.

"Oh, my, you didn't order this?" She looked horrified. "My grade," she whispered.

Oishi looked like he'd died. He gagged out, "Oh, I see. Yes, I did order this. Thank you very much for bringing this."

Tezuka hid his smile behind his napkin.

Then another pretty girl came with a cheesecake. Oishi didn't even bother complaining. He just hung his head and looked, pleadingly, at Tezuka. Tezuka for the most part, looked out the window as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.

When it was time to leave, he told Oishi to go ahead of him. He needed to leave behind a tip. He checked in his wallet and dragged out a bill and tossed it on the table. Then he went to the register and paid for the bill.

It wasn't until they were out in the parking lot that he risked a look over his shoulder. All the girls that served them were staring out the window, gaping. He smiled at them to show his appreciation. He knew that the fifty dollar bill he'd left would do the other half of showing his appreciation.

After that time, they went to that restaurant to eat. Every girl there would fight to serve them. After a month of going there, Oishi seemed to be getting healthier. He had more color to his face and more meat to his bones. He now looked only half dead. Another few months of this and he'd be well recovered.

Tezuka could see a problem, though. Oishi's eyes never changed. They were as dark as they were a month ago in that restaurant.

He fingered the letters again. He figured it was time to read them. He waited until Oishi went to the ice machine to pick up more ice and then he sat on the edge of the bed. He tore open the letter addressed to him and read it. It said:

_Tezuka-buchou,_

_You're probably wondering why I'm doing this. I'll tell you. None of you will change if you all have me there to fall back on. You would all see me as a shield to your personal demons and nothing will be resolved. I'm counting on you, Buchou, to heal Oishi. Don't let me down, Buchou. There have always been two pillars for this team. Yours has not crumbled yet. Don't let your guard down._

_Ryoma Echizen_

Drops fell onto the letter, and it startled him. He felt his face and his fingers found wetness seeping out of his eyes. Crying. That's what this was. He didn't remember ever crying before. He took his glasses off so they wouldn't get wet.

He dimly heard the door open and the ice flying everywhere as the bucket fell.

"Tezuka!" Oishi, at least he thought it was Oishi, called.

Someone placed their arms around him and held him close to them. He looked up and saw Oishi's worried eyes looking at him. He wondered why Oishi was looking at him like that. He hadn't seen that worried of a look in Oishi's eyes for a long time. Since high school, actually.

"Tezuka…" he said softly.

That was all it took for him to break down. He shoved his face into Oishi's warm chest and cried his eyes out. He couldn't take it anymore.

"I can't do it!" he whimpered.

Oishi gently stroked his back. "Do what?" he asked in that same soft tone.

"I can't heal you. I don't even know what's wrong with you. I can't heal what I don't know." Through his shaking, he could feel that Oishi was shaking too.

"Is that what made you break down? Am I the person who finally made you cry? The strong and able Tezuka cry?" Drops of water fell on Tezuka's face, and then he realized that Oishi was also crying.

"How can I heal you when I couldn't heal Fuji?" he asked in a bare whisper.

Oishi froze. "What's wrong with Fuji?" he asked. "He looked fine to me."

Tezuka sat there with his head cradled in his hands for the longest time. Then, finally, he began the tale.

"Fuji murdered someone. Not intentionally, but he did. He killed the guy with a tennis racket, of all things. I hadn't realized that tennis swings were that powerful, but he managed to bust in the man's skull and crack his ribs. His racket was made of metal, so it was as good as a weapon. They tried Fuji, but he got off by defending himself.

"Ever since then, he's been terrified of rackets. We came to Echizen because… because his pillar hasn't crumbled. I had believed that mine had. I can't do what Echizen is apparently doing to everyone."

"No, Tezuka, your pillar hasn't crumbled yet. You still lead this team, no matter what anyone says. Things are just out of your hands," Oishi explained. This sounded so much like the old Oishi that it made Tezuka's heart ache. "Look at you. You've had to put up with Fuji's depression and your own. You believed that it was your fault that you couldn't heal Fuji. Echizen and Momo were the only ones who we could turn to." He stroked Tezuka's hair back, which felt really good. "Did you know that Eiji and I had two choices to make? One was going to you and Fuji, and the other was going to Echizen and Momo. We chose Echizen because of his money. He was in the best situation to help."

Tezuka smiled. "That's good to know." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"I suppose you want to know what happened to Eiji and me now?" Oishi asked gently.

"It would be nice," Tezuka remarked.

He took a deep breath and began. "We had a son. He wasn't our biological son. He was Eiji's nephew, Seth. Seth ended up living with us for two years because his mother was divorcing a real monster. When the divorce was over, he stayed with us. He became our son.

"He wanted to really badly take after Eiji and practiced flips and such. One day, Eiji and he were out in rush hour and Seth practiced one of his flips and tripped. He fell into the middle of the road. A car didn't see him and… he died. Almost instantly, the doctors said. Eiji's been blaming himself ever since."

Tezuka nodded. "And you've been blaming yourself because of Eiji's condition, like me."

Oishi nodded and smiled ruefully. "We're a lot alike, you and I."

"So, that's why Echizen placed us together. I see."

He looked at the crumpled up letter in his hand. Oishi gently pried the letter from his hands when he saw that Tezuka's attention wasn't on him anymore. Tezuka watched Oishi's eyes as they scanned the letter. His look was thoughtful. Finally, he looked up at Tezuka.

"Echizen is right, you know. Your pillar hasn't crumbled yet. You're the same strong buchou that I know." Tears slipped once again from Oishi's eyes. "I'm sorry I made you worry about me. I'm sorry I made Echizen worry so much about me."

His body shook with the effort it took not to break down. Tezuka, in a rare moment of tenderness, wrapped his arms around Oishi and just sat there. Oishi's tense body relaxed and he buried his head in Tezuka's chest. The sobs subsided into little whimpers, but those soon went away as well.

When Tezuka felt like it was time, he unwrapped his arms and let Oishi go. He received an uncertain smile for his work.

"Thanks. I needed that," Oishi explained.

Tezuka nodded. Then, he remembered the other letter in his pocket. It was addressed to Oishi. He withdrew the letter and handed it over to Oishi, who scanned the letter quickly. Tezuka was startled when tears appeared in Oishi's eyes. When he was sure Oishi was done reading the letter, he plucked it out of his hands and read.

_Oishi,_

_Get well, Oishi. Get well and become the Golden Pair that we've all looked up to. Don't let us down. Don't let the past haunt you. It's already done and passed, why let it harm you now? Believe in me. Please. I'm begging you. I'll be waiting to take on the Golden Pair when you're well._

_Ryoma Echizen_

Tezuka smiled mentally. Even now Echizen was looking after them. He looked at Oishi and saw a far-off look in his eyes.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked.

Oishi shook his head and looked at Tezuka. "I was just thinking of how stupid I was. You two have been doing everything you can to make me better. I've been an idiot and ignored you."

Tezuka sighed. "Now you're just beating yourself up. Stop it." Startled, Oishi looked at Tezuka with wide eyes. "If you feel bad about it, get well. Do what Echizen says and become the Golden Pair again," he said simply.

"But… I don't even know how Eiji's doing. I can't get better without knowing about Eiji."

Tezuka glared at him through his glasses. Oishi winced when he caught the full look of that glare.

"Don't think about Eiji. Trust Echizen. Do what the letter says to do."

Oishi looked at the wall for the longest time. Tezuka literally watched the shadows on the wall deepen into the afternoon. He knew that whatever Oishi's decision might be, it was his to make. Neither Echizen nor he could force anything on him.

Oishi finally looked at him. "Hey, Tezuka." He stopped for a second. "Do you think we have time for a game?"

Tezuka felt like smiling. "Yes, we have time for a few games, actually."

"Then let's go."

Oishi got up and grabbed his racket. He opened the door to their room. Tezuka lifted himself off of the floor, curious at what decision Oishi had come to. He figured there was only one way to know.

"But, what about the past?" he asked.

Oishi froze at the door. Never turning around, he replied, "What past?"

"What about Eiji?"

"Eiji can fend for himself. I trust Echizen."

Tezuka nodded, grabbing his racket. "Then let's go practice."

They left the room with a warm feeling. Tezuka knew that Oishi was healing. He just hoped that Eiji was too.

They rode the elevator down to the lobby and walked companionably outside. Oishi stopped once they were out the door and took a deep breath of fresh air.

"It feels nice out here." He looked at all the people walking to and from wherever they came from.

Tezuka nodded. "It does feel nice out here," he agreed.

He headed in the direction of a court, knowing that Oishi would be right behind him. Accidentally, he bumped into someone and dropped his racket.

"Sorry," a husky voice said.

He looked up into the most golden eyes he'd ever seen. She was short and wore denim pants with a sporty polo shirt. She had her shoulder-length black hair let down with only clips to hold it in place. She smiled at him, and only then did he realize that he was staring at her.

"I'm sorry," he told her. For some reason, this woman looked familiar.

Oishi ran up to the lady, placing a hand under one of her arms to help her stand up. "I'm sorry for my friend's inattentiveness." He smiled at the woman.

"It's okay. It was partly my fault as well." She brushed herself off. "Since it was, would you mind allowing me to take you two out for an early dinner?"

Tezuka didn't say anything. He was curious at how Oishi would reply to that question.

"Sure. You pay half and we'll pay half, since it was only half your fault," he told the woman. "I'm pretty hungry, so this was perfect timing."

She grinned secretively. "Is it now?" She looked at Oishi. "You make it sound as if I planned this."

Oishi held up his hands in defense. "No, I… didn't… mean that," he stammered. "I just meant…." He looked helplessly at Tezuka.

"It's fine," Tezuka said, suspicious of this woman. "We'll pick the restaurant."

All three of them walked over to the diner that Oishi and he had been eating at. They were quickly sat down, with Oishi and Tezuka on one side and the woman on the other.

"So, where were you going in a hurry?" Tezuka asked the woman.

Her eyes locked onto his. "I was on my way to do some shopping at… the mall."

Tezuka wondered about her hesitation. That was weird.

"The mall? It's on the other side of the city. That's a long walk for anyone." Oishi voiced Tezuka's thoughts.

She never took her eyes off of Tezuka. "I needed a good exercise and figured I'd walk to the mall," she explained.

Tezuka didn't buy her story. Something seemed off about it. But then the waitress came to get their orders, and Tezuka was forced to break eye contact. She tossed her head, with a small smile gracing her face. Tezuka nearly growled. She thought she'd won. Tezuka ordered his usual, the woman ordered a coffee, and Oishi was still trying to decide.

"I'll take the club with extra french fries and a glass of milk." He grinned at the waitress.

She smiled back while writing down the order. She knew something had changed and was glad. Tezuka could see it on her face.

Obviously, so could the woman because she said, "Why does that person look so happy at your order?"

Oishi smiled. "I used to be anorexic. The girls here have been feeding me for a while now. Today was the first day I freely ordered everything they've been giving me. Did you know that these waitresses are graded on how much people eat? It's interesting."

The woman's eyes flashed with some hidden emotion and Tezuka nearly placed why this woman looked so familiar. But it was gone faster then it came.

"No, I didn't know that," she murmured. "But I'm glad I do now."

One of the waitresses showed up with a cup of coffee. The woman poured in a lot of sugar. Tezuka eyed the amount of sugar she put in her coffee. She noticed where he was looking at and grinned.

"My lover once told me that I needed this amount of sugar to sweeten my personality. To get back at him, I made our coffee like this all the time. Now I'm just used to it like this."

Tezuka placed a hand over his mouth to hide the smile. She knew. This person knew Tezuka. That's what had been bothering him. He tried to think of where he remembered her from, but got nothing from his memory. She drank her coffee in one shot and got up.

"Well, it's been real, but I have to go. I have a tennis match to play in. See you soon," she said and walked away.

It wasn't until she was at the counter that he placed where he'd seen her before. He jumped up from the table and turned around.

"Echizen!" he yelled.

Everyone, even the woman, turned to look at him. Then she grinned.

"See you in a few months, Buchou," she said in Japanese.

Then she was gone. He dropped back down into his chair. Oishi was looking at him with a stunned look on his face.

"Was that really Echizen?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Wow." Oishi looked toward the door. "Echizen makes a very beautiful woman."

Tezuka nodded, not bothering to reply. Echizen was desperate enough to find out if Oishi was healed, to risk coming here himself. He wondered, briefly, what would have happened if Oishi wasn't healed. What would Echizen have done?

"Oishi?" He looked at the still a little thin Oishi. "Hurry and eat. Then let's go practice."

Oishi grinned. "Okay! Let's show Echizen that I'm better."

_SIX MONTHS LATER_

Three taxis pulled up in front of Echizen's huge mansion at the same time. Momoshiro walked out of the door with Fuji right behind him. One by one, his friends got out of the taxis. He was amused to see that Kaidoh was the first one out of their cab. He limped over and thumped Momo over the head.

"Hey, what was that for!" he cried, indignant.

"For that letter, you idiot!" Kaidoh yelled.

"Well, you were asking for it!" he yelled back.

Kaidoh growled at him and he growled back. Someone forced them apart.

"Now you're going to hurt someone if you two don't stop," Oishi's motherly voice reprimanded them.

Kaidoh turned his glare over at Oishi. "That was my intention," he said angrily.

He huffed and limped over to sit on the steps. A small smile was playing on his lips. He looked very content.

Someone landed on top of Momo's back. He turned around to see Eiji hanging off of his neck.

"Hoi, hoi! Do I see a fight?" He winked at Momo. "I still have your promise of that all-you-can-eat burger spree we're going on with Ochibi. Don't you forget." He grinned insanely. "I practiced with Inui, so don't you think you're getting off lightly with that. I'll make a dent in yours and Ochibi's saving account."

Momo started. That would definitely be some eating spree. He was bent half over with Eiji hanging off his neck, and he was starting to feel it.

"Eiji-sempai, get… off. You weight too much." He ground his teeth in his effort to hold onto Eiji.

"Do I now? Nya! Momo's being mean to me and saying I weigh too much." He bounced off. "But I'll forgive you today because it's special."

Momo brushed himself off and looked over at Tezuka, who was viewing things without any expression on his face. Momo smiled to himself. Tezuka felt right. He could feel the endless amounts of aura coming off of Tezuka. When he last saw him, he couldn't feel anything. Their old buchou was back.

He froze when he heard scribbling. He slowly turned around and saw Inui writing something down in his notebook. There was a sinister gleam to his glasses that made him look, once more, like a mad doctor. It was made even truer with the fact that Inui was now a real doctor.

Right beside him was Fuji, looking inside the notebook and saying, "I see. Yes, you're right."

Inui froze and moved his notebook even closer, but the evil smile on Fuji's lips made him give up before he'd even begun. He started writing again, much to Fuji's intense pleasure. In Fuji's right hand, he held a racket. Every now and then, he'd shoulder it.

While Momo was viewing Inui and Fuji, Taka came over to stand next to him. "Everyone looks like they used to, don't they?" he asked, excitement in his voice.

"Yes, they do. Even Oishi and Eiji…" he trailed off.

He looked around the yard for said pair, but he couldn't find them. Leaving Taka, he went around the side of the house. Before he could turn the corner, he heard voices. He decided to hide and listen.

"Oishi, I'm so sorry for all the pain I've put you through." There were tears in Eiji's voice. It wobbled every once and a while.

"It's okay, my love. If I'd been stronger, I could have helped you," Oishi said gently.

"No. You couldn't have. I was really messed up. Even while I was healing, Inui had to threaten me with his drinks more than once to bring me back to the real world." There seemed to be something choked in Eiji's voice.

Momo understood. Eiji having to put up with Inui's drinks… His heart went out to Eiji. _Poor, poor guinea pig… I mean Eiji,_ Momo thought. Tears came to his eyes with the force it took to keep from laughing.

He listened again and heard only a certain noise. No talking, just the noise. He wondered what it was. When he figured out what it was, he blushed and backed away. No use listening to Oishi and Eiji making out. They'd be back when they had made up with each other.

Excitedly, he went back to Taka and told him what he'd heard… minus the kissing part. Taka seemed as thrilled as he was.

"So the Golden Pair is back," Taka said with a smile.

"And we have our three geniuses," Momo said excitedly. He looked at Tezuka and Fuji.

"And our two power players." Taka shared a grin with Momo.

"What power player? I only see one and an idiot," a voice said from the stairs.

"Who are you calling an idiot, idiot!" Momo yelled at Mamushi.

"Who do you think I'm calling an idiot!"

"So when's Echizen coming home?" Fuji asked, interrupting the heated argument.

Momo grinned. "Ryoma! I have to go call him!"

He bounded into the house and ordered the phone to be brought to him. When it was brought to him, he dialed the number he knew by heart. It was going to be fun to tell Ryo how things had turned out. Would he be in for a surprise!


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note: Ok, so there were lots of people who said they wanted a reunion between the other players as well. Well, I agree. –blushes- I, um, forgot the other reunions. Bad author. Oh, wait, that's me. So now I have this side story before the main event… Ryoma's chapter. Here we go.

**Ryoma's Plan**

Side Story- Chapter 7.5

Eiji wasn't the most patient of people. He knew that. He also knew that today wasn't like most days. They'd arrived at Ochibi's mansion a few hours ago and spent most of that time talking. At the very beginning, he'd stolen Oishi away so he could have a private 'talk' with him. He was glad too because there was absolutely no alone time for them after that.

Now, though, Momo was off getting Ochibi from the airport and there was time for everyone to be alone. Eiji just couldn't figure Momo out. He'd mentioned to Momo that he'd be glad to go with him to the airport but he was turned down rather rudely. Something about Ryo and evil plans…

"What are you doing?" a voice asked from behind him, startling him out of his thoughts.

He whirled around and put his hands over the persons' mouth. It turned out to be Oishi. He gave his lover a grin and slowly took his hand away.

"Look, nya." He whispered, pointing around the corner.

Both of them looked around the door. The door lead into the library where two people were having a serious discussion. Those people happened to be Tezuka-buchou and Fuji. They had their arms wrapped around each other in a tight hug. Then Tezuka pulled back and grabbed Fuji's right hand.

"Is it healed?" his strong voice asked.

The smile never left Fuji's face. "Saa, you'll just have to challenge me to a match to see."

Tezuka ran his hand softly down Fuji's face. "I was so worried." He said calmly.

Something in his voice must have seemed not right because Fuji opened his eyes and gazed calmly into Tezuka's eyes.

"I know. I've been worried about you, too."

"What for?"

"Tezuka, my love, you were lost for so many years because of me. I knew that and, yet, I did nothing about it."

Eiji hadn't noticed it until now but Tezuka had something in his left hand. He clutched it which brought it to Eiji's attention. It looked like a piece of paper.

"Is that Echizen's note?" Fuji asked.

"Yes." One word seemed to sum it all up for Tezuka.

"What did it say?"

Tezuka looked about to not answer but, in the end, he did. "He told me that my pillar hasn't crumbled yet."

Fuji's face softened. "Is that why you were so lost?" He asked his lover. Something on Tezuka's face must have answered Fuji because he said, "No, I could have told you that. Your pillar never has crumbled. It's just wavered. It's why I stayed sane for so long."

Tezuka's eyes snapped to Fuji's. "It didn't look that way to me. You looked like you were going insane faster then I could handle."

Fuji's eyes hardened and there was something unreadable in them. "No, you would never have stayed sane if I had gone insane in any sort of manner. No one wants to see me like that." He stated it so calmly that Eiji believed him.

They wrapped their arms around each other then and kissed. It lasted a long time but it had a sweet aura around it that Eiji knew he couldn't interrupt.

He moved slowly out of the hallway, dragging Oishi with him. When they were sure they wouldn't interrupt the two lovers in the library, they stopped.

"I'm glad that went so well." Oishi murmured.

"Nya, I'm curious. What happened with Fuji?" An over rambunctious Eiji wanted to know.

Oishi smiled secretively. "I can't tell you yet. Maybe later."

"Moi, you're so mean!" he yelled, lightly hitting Oishi on the shoulder.

Oishi laughed then froze. Eiji was in the process of turning around when Oishi grabbed him and threw him on the ground.

"What'd you do that for?" Eiji pouted.

Oishi put a finger to his mouth and pointed up. Eiji hadn't noticed it until now but the window was open. Voices were lightly coming through the window.

"Are you sure this is vacant?" Eiji noticed Kaidoh's voice.

"Aa, I checked here earlier." Inui's calm voice said.

"What'd you want to talk to me for?" Kaidoh sounded impatient.

"We haven't seen each other in over a year and you want to leave me so badly?"

Eiji could feel the tension in the air. "Whatever."

"I wanted to tell you that I was sorry. I've seen, thanks to Eiji, that I wasn't looking out for your best interest when I went to get my medical degree. I profusely apologize."

There were tears in Kaidoh's voice. "You don't know what it was like." He whispered, his voice rough. "The only person I ever loved walked out on me. I was left to the torturous surgeries on my own. There wasn't a single face that I recognized. It was terrible."

"I'm sorry. I know that now. I know what I did was wrong and I'm sorry." There were actual tears in Inui's voice.

"Do you?" There was hopefulness in Kaidoh's. Eiji had never heard Kaidoh like this before.

"Yes. I promise, swear, never to leave you again. You are my world. You know that."

"You idiot, you know you're mine." His voice was rough and teasing.

Eiji felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked at Oishi. He was pointed for them to leave and Eiji agreed. Time for them to go. They'd gotten about ten feet away when they heard a door slam.

"Tezuka-buchou, Fuji! Oishi, Eiji! Inui, Idiot!" that last one was yelled vehemently. "Taka! Come down here please." Momo yelled from the front door.

Eiji heard several curses in several different languages from the other two couples. Mentally Eiji laughed. That was funny. He was too curious to see what Momo was yelling about so he grabbed Oishi and booked it through the house.

The other two couples came more slowly and gifted Momo with glares. Taka was smiling as always and didn't seem to be interrupted at all.

Momo was standing in the door way with a disgruntled, harassed looking Ochibi. Eiji had a moment to reflect that this short man didn't look like one of the most powerful men on the planet. He thought maybe Momo had something to do with this outlook but that's about as far as he got on his thinking before a paper was shoved under his nose.

He took the paper unconsciously and looked at it. He nearly had a fit. His body was trying to decide whether to laugh or to break down. To keep from doing either, he looked around the room at everyone else.

Shock was the dominate feeling he got from everyone. Fuji wore a look of total satisfaction on his face while Inui was madly scribbling in his notebook. The rest were too shocked to do anything at all.

Fuji opened both eyes and looked at Ochibi with full admiration. "Saa, they call me the evil one." He said serenely.

"You did this." Tezuka said. Not a question but a statement.

Ochibi got this evil look on his face. "Yes."

That one statement made everyone back away from the evil little person a few steps.

"Remind me not to get you mad, nya." Eiji stated. Several people nodded their heads in agreement.

"You realize that he's going to be coming after you for this." Oishi's motherly voice said.

Momo laughed. "Let him come."

He ruffled Ochibi's hair which made him glare at his lover. Eiji was strongly reminded of a hissing and spitting cat. Eiji was sure the two would look exactly alike. This also explained Ochibi's harassed look. Then Eiji got an idea.

"Who wants to bet the time he'll come after him?" he asked eagerly.

"I don't think…" Oishi started to say.

"Two months." Kaidoh said.

"A year." Tezuka said coolly.

Inui wrote something down in his notebook. "My guess is two years." More writing.

"Well I say four months." Eiji remarked. He nudged Taka. "How about you? What do you think?"

"Um, well, I think a year and a half." Was the timid reply.

"Fine. I'll make a guess." Oishi said. "Three years."

Ochibi glared at all of them making them all wear smug looks. Eiji couldn't help it. It was fun to teach Ochibi. He picked up the newspaper again and laughed. This was going to be fun to see who was right. He wondered what the revenge would turn out to be.


	9. Chapter 9

Author's Note: Ok I hope I've redeemed myself. This is the last chapter all. I hope you all enjoy it. I really enjoyed writing it. Anywho… not much else to say. This is it. This is all. This is the whole enchilada.

Disclaimer: not mine and never will be. So there.

**Ryoma's Plan**

Chapter 8

The phone buzzed silently until the owner picked it up. "Aa," came the quiet voice.

"Hey! Ryo! Are you heading this way?" Takeshi's excited voice nearly shouted from the phone.

Ryoma quickly pulled the phone from his ear to save his poor eardrums. "Yes, I am."

"Great! Did you know that everyone is healed? Oishi and Eiji look like they used to and act like they used to and I just got beat up from a walking Mamushi!"

Ryoma allowed a small smile to grace his face, even though Takeshi couldn't see him. "Yes, I knew."

"WAAA! How could you have known before me! You're so mean, Ryo-kun," Takeshi yelled exaggeratedly over the phone.

Ryoma rolled his eyes and pushed a strand of long black hair from his face. "Ok, I'll admit I didn't know." He paused for a moment and then went on. "It was more hope than anything. I did know in Fuji-sempai's case because I was there."

"Hmm, I remember that. I really want to see you dress up in drag again. It was amazing that even I didn't recognize you." Ryoma could just imagine the smirk on his lover's face. "So, how'd you know where and when all those people would be?" Takeshi asked.

Ryoma sighed. "You remember when I took a month off of work?"

Takeshi was serious now. "Yeah, I remember."

"I took our private jet to all these places and checked them out. A few weeks before, I hired a very highly recommended detective to find out what was wrong with our friends. When I heard what he found, I couldn't sit still. I actually happened upon most of the people. When I heard their stories, I asked them for help and gave them the descriptions of our friends and told them to tell their stories to them. They agreed."

A chuckle made its way over the phone. "Besides you, of course. That was just brilliant."

Ryoma sighed and leaned his head on the window. It looked like Takeshi wasn't going to be letting him forget that one anytime soon.

"One thing's bothering me, though," Takeshi said, no hint of laughter in his voice. "All those years ago at Atobe's Christmas party, you said you were going to pay him back for him making you dress like a girl. Everyone here thought you'd be getting him back when you fixed everyone. I don't see anything like that, though."

Ryoma chuckled evilly. "Oh, you all were right." He glanced at his watch. "In fact, it should be any second."

Jack Tofferman loved hiking. It was one of his lifelong hobbies. He'd hiked all over America and now he had a chance at Japan. He'd asked all the locals, and they all told him that this was the most beautiful hiking spot in all of Japan. He'd gotten out here by hitchhiking, and the car left a long time ago.

He took a look around him and had to agree with the locals. This was going to be a memorable hike. The forest nearly glowed with life. It was the kind of untamed beauty you couldn't find in America.

He took a deep breath and was about to let it go when he heard a blood-curdling scream. He hacked and coughed and looked wildly around him. He looked toward the sky, and flocks of birds were taking off in different directions. Thousands of birds. He estimated that the scream had come from really far away and scared miles worth of birds to the sky.

Jack shivered at what could have made a human scream that loud. He nervously made the cross sign. He took one last look at the direction of where the scream sounded from and then resumed his hike.

Atobe's butler and Kabaji took the stairs two at a time to get to the room where Atobe had screamed from. They threw open the door and rushed in.

"Master?" The butler panted.

Atobe wasn't looking at them. In fact, he didn't even seem aware that someone else was in the room with him. He was staring at the paper in front of him.

Shishido, Gakuto and Yuushi rushed in right then.

"We thought we heard Atobe-sama scream," one of them said.

Kabaji nodded.

Atobe was shaking with rage. In his hands, he held a newspaper. Curiosity got the better of all five people, and they all ran down to the kitchens and grabbed the paper that a maid was reading. She had a shocked and horrified look on her face, as did all the rest of the people in the kitchen.

Shishido plucked it out of the maid's hand, and his eyes immediately went to the picture. On the front was a large picture of a woman wearing a spaghetti strap red dress with slits up the sides. She was wearing black fishnet leggings and expensive ruby red high heels. The face was to die for. The makeup accented every little trace of beauty in that face. But it was the face that they recognized that nearly killed them. The dark purple hair was done up with ruby clips and looked like it was done by a professional.

There was no mistake; this was Atobe-sama they were looking at. The headline was enough to send Shishido and the others gagging. Whether it was to interrupt the coughing or the laughing, no one in the kitchens knew. The headline read: **WANT TO HAVE A DATE WITH ME? IF YOU DON'T MIND THAT I'M A CROSSDRESSER, CALL 555-777-9988.** That was the direct number to Atobe-sama's house.

They ran upstairs again to see that Atobe-sama was already burning the paper in his hands with a twisted smile on his face. Right then, the house phone started ringing off the hook.

Atobe-sama picked it up and they all heard. "GET AWAY FROM ME! NO, I DON'T WANT A DATE WITH YOU!"

He slammed it down but, not a second later, the phone started ringing again.

Atobe slammed the phone into the wall and screamed, "ECHIZEN!"

Again, birds took flight for the second time that day.

Ryoma could tell that Takeshi was curious, and he reached down into his bag and brought forth a newspaper.

"Trust me, love, when I say that I think I got Atobe back very nicely." The evil grin made the stewardess gulp and walk by very fast.

"Awwww," Takeshi moaned over the phone. "You're not going to tell me. You're so mean, Ryo."

Ryoma chuckled again. "I'm the type of person who holds grudges, Takeshi. Remember that."

"Aa. I already know that, Ryo. Why do you think I never make you angry?" There was a deep love in that voice, and Ryoma smiled sweetly.

"Then I'll show you when I get to San Francisco. Okay?"

"Maa, guess I'll have to settle for that."

Ryoma hung up the phone and tapped it idly against the armrest of his chair. No, no one angered Ryoma, and that was for a really good reason. He figured that by now, Atobe would have every single newspaper burned in that little town where his cottage was located. The thing he would find out very soon was that Ryoma didn't only put it in that town's newspaper. He had made sure to put it in the newspapers all across Japan.

Again, that evil grin returned. Oh, he was enjoying this bit of revenge very nicely. Next was to build up his future competition. That was the whole point of healing his friends. He would have done it anyway, but the only ones who could give him a fight were his former teammates. The building would take years. By then, he would have conquered the world.

He fingered the phone and then dialed a number. It only rang once before it was picked up.

"Hello?" A feminine voice rang out.

"Hello Tomo." He said in the way of greeting.

"Ryoma-sama!" He winced at the scream. "How are you?"

"Much better." He tried to cut small talk. "Thanks for the favor." He said.

"Anything for Ryoma-sama." She gushed.

"Ja." He hung up the phone with a grin.

Tomo, he'd found out, had gone on from high school to become a reporter. She'd done so well that she had a lot of influence in the news business. It wasn't hard for him to ask her to do him the favor of putting a certain photo and caption on the front page. He nearly laughed.

Looks like he had cured his boredom. From now on, he'd have to watch his back for Atobe's revenge. Ryoma picked up his phone and dialed a number. So much to do, and so little time to enjoy revenge. That's what being famous was like. He grinned again.

**Epilogue**

_10 years later_

The world was stunned at the appearance of eight new tennis stars. Their talent rivaled that of the famous Ryoma Echizen himself. Rumor had it that these eight were even trained by Echizen himself. People debated over that information for years, saying that it was impossible. Why would Echizen want to have competition? It didn't make any sense.

Yet, these eight players blew through the pros at a very fast pace and began making headlines for themselves.

First, there was Kaidoh Kaoru. The amazing snakelike player that wore his opponents out. Even if the opponents found out they were being manipulated, Kaidoh's amazing stamina never failed to move viewers. He never lost to fatigue. There was a rumor that this player had once hurt his legs badly in a car accident but there were no signs of it so most people blew that information off as a rumor.

Second was Momoshiro Takeshi. The rumors surrounding this player were the most interesting. It was said that this player was in fact Ryoma Echizen's lover. It was true that spectators saw him and Ryoma together quite a lot, and they'd seen these two together for over fifteen years. The possibilities were high that that rumor was true. Momoshiro was an amazing player with the ability to hit a shot called the Dunk Smash. It was a play that could never be returned and so powerful that it left holes in the ground afterward. But he wasn't remarkable only because of that. He had a great strength and pinpoint accuracy to go along with that strength, so that he knew where and when that shot would hit. More often then not, he won his games without using his Dunk Smash, but with his great strength alone.

Third was Kawamura Takashi. This player stunned the world with his split personalities. Like Momoshiro, he had great strength and totally relied on it. The muscles in his arms were rumored to be over 9 inches in diameter. He was called the 'Wild Ball' behind his back because 9 out of 10 times he would injure an opponent due to their stupidity in underestimating him. But when the racket was out of his hand, he'd always rush over and fawn over the fallen victim. He was called the 'Wild Ball' because no one really knew what he was going to do, when or where.

Fourth and fifth were the doubles pair, Oishi Syuichiroh and Eiji Kikumaru. No doubles opponent had ever beaten these two, and high stakes were being placed on them never losing. Companies called them all the time to sign contracts with them and wanted to sponsor them.

Sixth was the data-collecting Inui, who was absolutely scary to go against. It was as if he knew the opponent's moves even before they themselves did. The audience was kept captive with his beautiful, almost art-like, playing.

Seventh was Syusuke Fuji. His triple counters kept the opponents on their toes and the audience coming back for more. His gorgeous looks held the female portion of the world captive and made him the recipient of fan mail and death threats alike. Poor Fuji Syusuke.

Eighth was the mysterious Tezuka Kunimitsu. Not only were his plays as beautiful as art, but his talent was at keeping the ball in his zone and under his control. Not many opponents scored a single point off of this player. Sponsors were plentiful with this player, and he had to actually turn many of them down.

But with all of these amazing players that stunned the world with their abilities, Ryoma Echizen could always been counted on to come to their games. Each and every one of them. So perhaps that rumor of him training these talented players wasn't so off after all…


End file.
